X-Men
by Coulson is a Beast
Summary: The X-Men face off against the Brotherhood of Mutants in an all out battle for the fate of mutant kind. Part of my Marvel Universe.
1. Prologue: Chess

**Central Park**

Charles Xavier sat in his wheelchair overlooking a very interesting game of chess, it was a breezy fall day in Central Park with the leaves just beginning to change colors. Charles was a bald man in a wheelchair, he looked up and locked eyes with his opponent.

Erik Lehnsherr looked deep into the eyes of his oldest friend, Charles could read his mind if he wanted to, since Charles mutant ability was telepathy. However, Erik knew better and Charles Xavier would never use his abilities to cheat at chess. Erik looked down at his metal chess pieces and used his ability to control metal to move them how he wished.

Charles sighed as Erik made his move "I saw you on the news last week" he said as he made his own move on the chess board. Erik looked up and then turned his attention back to the game. Charles was speaking of an attack in Switzerland where the Brotherhood of Mutants attacked a meeting of officials who were in support of Mutant registration.

Erik sighed "They want to round us up Charles, extermination is the next step" he explained as he made his next move. Erik had created the Brotherhood of Mutants in the 1990's and led the Brotherhood ever since.

Charles shook his head "It won't come to that" he replied as he moved his piece "Check."

Erik sighed loudly and looked at the board as he looked for an escape "Charles, we have been enemies for a long time. Mutants are on the brink…there are more and more of us every single day. Every day the humans will grow more and more paranoid about their place in the mutant's world."

"It's a world we all share Erik" replied Charles as the frustration of their relationship was beginning to grate on the encounter between the two of them.

Erik stood up "For now Charles, but sooner rather than later, humans will learn what mutant kind is capable of. A new world is coming Charles…I hope you are on the right side when it comes."

Erik went to walk past Charles when Charles grabbed his arm to stop him "I will be where I will always be…right across from you, Magneto" he said getting a smile from Erik.

"Farewell, my friend" he said as he put on a top hat and walked away.

Charles turned his chair to watch Magneto leave used his telepathic abilities to call for Scott Summers, his prize student to come pick him up.


	2. Fireworks

**A Bar**

Jubilee made her way into the run-down bar that she had decided was the best option to get her out of the warm weather. She had run out of the house so quickly that she had forgotten to grab anything more than her yellow jacket that was more for a rain storm than a hot summer night. Jubilee was a sixteen-year-old Asian girl who had just discovered that she was in fact a mutant, an orphan since she was a young girl, she was very surprised how her new adopted family reacted when her powers woke up.

She had been enjoying an anniversary celebration with the new family when out of nowhere there was a car accident outside, they all ran out of the house to help and while Jubilee was trying to help a young man out of a flipped car, bright colored energy pulsed from her hands and nearly caused an explosion from the car. Jubilee was overwhelmed and ran inside where within the hour she overheard her knew adopted mother on the phone calling the authorities.

Jubilee did the only thing she could think to do which was make a break for it, she climbed out of her bedroom window and started running. It had been a few hours and no cops had stopped her so she assumed nobody was looking for her yet. Getting from the suburbs of New York to the outskirts of the city had not been easy but if she could get a way out of the city, she could figure out everything else after that.

She took a seat at the bar and looked at the bartender who gave her a very clear not serving you look which she quickly smiled towards, she scanned the room hoping to spot someone who might at least buy her a little bit of food or water since she neglected to grab money in her escape. She spotted a group of bikers on her left side who stared at her with very animalistic and hungry looks that made her uneasy. The right side of the bar sat one man, with long hair that pointed up on the sides almost like a pair of ears with mutton chops running down the side of his face, he was ignoring her but she chose him to be the lesser of two evils.

Logan had watched the young girl enter and take her seat at the bar, clearly a runaway she had no bag with her but she smelled of nervousness and clearly had a lack of judgement to have walked into that particular bar at night. He had only been passing through and didn't feel like going farther into the city than he already had. Logan had lived far too long to stick around people much and he had to fight the urge to tell the girl to stay put when she stood up and made her way towards him.

"Umm…excuse me?" she said as sweetly as she could muster. Logan looked over at her with a non-caring face. "I was hoping that you might be able to buy me a meal or even just some water, I can pay you back at some point just not right now."

Logan sighed and was about to respond when he noticed the newest patron to the bar, a young blonde woman in a nice suit, the most jarring thing about her however was her perfume, Logan was not sure what the scent was but it was certainly going to stick out in his mind for the rest of time. She sauntered her way over to the bar and put herself between Logan and Jubilee. "Can I offer you some assistance young lady?" she said as she slowly pushed Jubilee back to the center of the bar.

Jubilee quickly found herself pushed somewhat closer to the bikers who had their eyes all over the blonde who was blissfully ignoring them. She smiled and leaned forward and spoke into Jubilee's ear "I know what you are." Jubilee froze as the woman talked.

Logan was intently listening to the conversation between the two ladies thanks to his very keen senses thanks to his mutant abilities, aside from his senses Logan had been gifted with three claws that popped from between his knuckles on both hands and a healing factor that not only healed every injury known to man, it also extended Logan's life well beyond what would be considered normal.

"I can offer you more than just food and water, I can offer you protection and a place to stay. I know what happened with your parents Jubilee…Humans are not capable of handling their superiors." Mystique had played this game so many times over the years for Magneto, she was a mutant with the ability to shape shift into anyone she chose and right now she was using the very attractive FBI agent she had murdered and replaced almost six months ago.

Jubilee thought the offer over quietly, noticing that the woman's eyes had not left her. She began to look around a little more when she saw that the man on her right side was watching the blonde very intently. "Something is wrong" Jubilee muttered to herself.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that my dear" replied Mystique who was sensing that Jubilee was not going to come with her quietly.

"I appreciate your offer but I don't think it would be in my best interest to accept it. I don't know you nearly well enough to just go walking out of here with you" stated Jubilee getting a disappointing nod from Mystique.

"Very well" Mystique replied as she stood up and pulled out a card "Well if you ever change your mind…here is my card." Mystique walked away from Jubilee and headed to the woman's restroom where she had just seen a female biker go. Mystique entered the restroom to find the biker lady leaned over a toilet and heaving up whatever she had been drinking the past few hours.

Mystique looked into the stall since it had no doors and reverted to her normal form, her skin was a natural blue and had scales with her red hair punctuated by her yellow eyes. Mystique never bothered with clothes given that in public she would change her appearance and could instantly make the clothes appear. She raised her barefoot and drove it into the back of the biker woman's head snapping her neck. Mystique flipped the woman over and looked her over and then changed her appearance to look like her.

Mystique left the bathroom and headed over to the group of bikers the woman she had just murdered was originally sitting with. She whispered into the ear of the man the woman had clearly been seeing "That girl over there is one of them mutant freaks, I saw her powers in the bathroom earlier." The lead biker looked at her and then at Jubilee.

He stood up and called his boys to join him "Hey" he said to Jubilee who looked over with great fear in her eyes. "You one of them freaks?" he asked causing Jubilee to stand up and try to leave when the much larger man cut her off. "I asked you a question…are you one of them freak mutants?"

Jubilee was frozen with fear and that fear made her lose control, her fireworks as she called them, went off destroying the stool next to her and causing one of the bikers to jump into the air. "I'm sorry" she yelled as the lead biker grabbed her by the jacket and raised his fist. Jubilee was waiting for contact when she heard a popping noise, the sound of something metal slicing through something hard and agonizing scream of the lead biker as he let her go and fell to his knees.

She looked down to find the biker holding his right arm that was now missing its fist, which was now laying balled up next to the biker. She looked to find the man she was going to ask for food standing over him with metal claws sticking out of his right hand.

"He's one too" yelled another biker who charged at Logan who popped his left claws as the bikers all converged on him.

Mystique sighed and took a seat watching the madness ensue as the bikers attacked Logan "Who the hell is this guy?" she openly wondered not noticing as Jubilee crawled her way through the action and escaped the bar unscathed as she made a break for it.

Logan had just cut his way through two more bikers when he heard the shotgun cock to his right, the bar owner had grabbed his weapon and was clearly willing to use it. Logan looked at the man in his eyes "I don't serve freaks like you…so get the hell out of here right now" he said as Logan looked at the bikers who were still itching for a fight.

Mystique stood up and decided to get the situation handled before she headed off to find the girl who Mystique missed leaving the bar. She picked up a chain one of the dead bikers had and shape shifted into him. She then quietly approached and used the chain so smack Logan in the face causing him to move towards the bar owner who out of reflex pulled the trigger.

As everyone reeled from watching Logan get shot in the head by a shotgun at close range, Mystique quietly exited the bar and returned to her car as she started hacking traffic cams hoping to spot Jubilee.

The bar owner was panicking when he pulled the trigger and he was in the process of dialing 9-1-1 when a hand popped up on the bar. Logan pulled himself off of the ground and groaned in pain as his head regenerated itself. When it was done Logan wiped off the blood and looked at the owner and the remaining bikers who all immediately made a break for the exit. The owner looked petrified as Logan started to leave. Logan turned back and looked at the owner "Do yourself a favor bub, don't be here next time I'm around" Logan said as he went through the doors and found himself on the streets of New York. He scanned the area, he knew that the blonde somehow set up the girl and he knew that someone like that wouldn't stop just because the girl escaped. Logan started sniffing and after a few moments found what he was looking for, blood had spilled on the girl's clothes from his attack on the lead biker. He could track her for miles now as he started walking, knowing he would have to find time to come back for his truck. Logan didn't want to get involved but the girl was going to need help and as isolated as Logan was, he was not going to leave her in the hands of someone dangerous.


	3. Night in the Mall

**Mall in New York**

Scott Summers looked down from the top floor of the mall, his red tinted sun glasses scanned the people on the lookout for the students they had brought for a visit. He hoped Jean and Ororo were keeping an eye on them, bringing a group of mutant children still learning to control their abilities was dangerous. Scott thanked his stars that nobody had any kind of ability like his which was red optic blasts that came out of his eyes. Scott had learned to control his mutant ability after being found by Charles Xavier who helped create a pair of glasses and a visor that would allow Scott to look through his eyes without hurting anyone.

Ororo Munroe laughed as she led a few young ladies out of a clothing store where they had bought some new clothes, Ororo was not from around here, originally from Africa she had come here with Charles Xavier as a child. He had taught her how to control her mutant ability to control the weather. She waved the kids to follow her as she moved towards Jean Grey, Jean was an average sized woman with beautiful red hair.

Jean smiled as they approached as she used her telepathic abilities to contact Scott "Scott, are you ready to get everyone moving so we can get back" she said using her mind bringing a smile to Scott's face.

"Alright start heading down, I'll start herding them towards the two of you" he replied as he sent a group text to the students who came telling them to start heading for the entrance where they had come in at. He then began walking around making sure he got all the children where he needed to get them.

Jubilee entered the mall hoping that if someone was chasing her they would lose her in here. She was trying her best to act natural but the idea of those bikers giving chase frightened her deeply.

Mystique had followed Jubilee closely, it was easy to spot the girl thanks to her jacket. She texted Toad on her way and saw the van that they had brought with them just in case things went this way. She got out and took on the form of the agent again as she led two others into the mall from a side entrance.

Toad was a younger member of the Brotherhood but his desire to please Magneto allowed him to rise through the ranks quickly and due to his inexhaustible stamina, he was perfect for chasing people. On top of his stamina he also granted the ability to leap great distances, contort his body like a circus freak and a tongue that he claimed he could stretch out thirty feet although nobody dared asked him to try.

The other member was the second person Magneto recruited to join him back in the 1990's, Sabretooth as he was called was a mountain of a man who was often more animal than man. He had enhanced senses and strength, his finger nails were very claw like and he had an ability to heal just about any wound. Mystique had seen him once take a grenade right to the face and get up laughing as he tore the person who threw it apart. Only Mystique had been in service of Magneto longer than Sabretooth and the two had worked together a lot over the years.

They entered through a side entrance as Mystique scanned the crowd hoping to spot Jubilee, "Find her and bring her to me…alive. New recruits are hard to come by so be gentle" she said as Toad sauntered off and Sabretooth simply sniffed the air. He seemed interested by something "What is it?" she asked.

Sabretooth smiled "Just smell something I haven't smelled in a long time" he remarked as he stalked off.

Logan was not far behind Jubilee, he could still smell the blood on her jacket. He looked through the crowd as he continued following the scent. The girl was alone and in need of help, that much he was sure about. Logan walked by a group of young kids and locked eyes with an attractive red head who was staring so deeply at him, he was sure she was reading his mind.

Jean Grey watched the man look away and continue moving through the crowd, she hadn't meant to read his mind but sometimes she couldn't help herself. His name was Logan and he was a mutant like herself and he was trying to find a young girl who needed help. Jean used her mind to reach out to Scott who was almost to her position, "Scott, something is going on" she said as she began to explain.

Jubilee was confident she had lost any pursuers when she was tackled to the ground by Toad. "Well, hey there young lady" he said with drool working its way down his chin. Toads tongue slipped out and ran along Jubilee's cheek. Jubilee used her fireworks without thinking and sent Toad back a few feet on his back. She stood to make a break for it when Toad leapt into the air and landed on her with both feet. "Well that wasn't very lady like" he sneered as he moved to pick her up.

Toad was already thinking how proud Magneto would be when he felt to hands grab him and throw him through a glass stand filled with Iron Man action figures. Toad looked up to find a small man standing between him and Jubilee. "Bub, you picked a bad fight with the wrong guy" Logan stated as Toad stood up ready to fight.

Scott turned when the screaming started "Okay, get the kids to van and wait for me, if they need help, I'll make sure they get it" he said as Jean nodded and led the children out with Ororo. He quickly noticed people already calling the authorities as he made his way to epicenter of the action.

Logan hadn't popped his claws yet hoping to avoid such things in this public of a setting but just as Toad was about to strike, Logan got a whiff of a very memorable smell. "Well, if it isn't baby brother in the flesh" came the voice of his brother Victor Creed or as he had started calling himself Sabretooth.

Logan turned and popped his claws "Start running kid" he said as Jubilee took the hint and made a break for it amongst all the people who were fleeing. Toad moved to pursue when Sabretooth put his hand in the air "Don't bother, get back to the car with Mystique and get out of here. Too much heat now, I'll see you guys at the rendezvous" ordered Sabretooth getting an annoyed sound from Toad who jumped off in the opposite direction of Jubilee.

Sabretooth kept his eyes locked on Logan "How long has it been Jimmy? Russia? In 1991?" he asked knowing the answer. When he got no response, Sabretooth put his hands up "Oh sorry, I forgot…its Logan now. Or would you prefer Wolverine?"

Logan's breathing was starting to pick up, he hadn't gone by James Howlett in a very long time and the codename was something he hadn't heard since he stopped using his abilities in the service of others. "Well? You going to give your big brother a hug?" asked Sabretooth causing Wolverine to charge with an angry growl.

The two brothers collided as they clawed at each other, Wolverine drove his claw into Sabretooth's chest, a kill shot on any other opponent, and was subsequently grabbed and thrown through the front glass window of a Foot Locker. Wolverine recovered quickly and slashed Sabretooth across the face as he approached him, Sabretooth then drove his own claws into Wolverines stomach. Wolverine watched Sabretooth's face heal right in front of him as the two clashed again.

Scott watched as Police started to file in with Riot Gear and heavy weapons, Mutant response teams were becoming the norm for Police Departments and that was raising more issues for Scott. He stopped and pulled his glasses down so that his optic blast could heat up a drinking fountain causing it to explode and a pipe to burst sending water everywhere and slowing the police.

Jubilee bumped into Ororo who looked closely at her, Jubilee's face gave away how overwhelmed she was feeling with her powers. "You okay?" Ororo asked as Jubilee looked around and lost control again sending her fireworks into a nearby store front. A police officer who had just arrived saw her and pulled his weapon. Ororo tapped into her powers and called a small tornado that sent the Officer flying against a wall. Jubilee looked at Ororo who gave her a reassuring look and took her hand "We'll get you out of here" she said as Jubilee silently followed.

Scott rounded a corner and found what he was looking for, Sabretooth he recognized from their previous meetings but the smaller combatant was new and more than holding his own against Sabretooth. Scott was about to intervene when an Police Officer tossed in a grenade, which thanks to a few rules the Mayor of New York had passed following the outbreak in the city last year he was very much allowed to do.

The grenade landed between Sabretooth and Wolverine and exploded sending the two combatants flying back. Sabretooth bounced off a wall and pulled himself up and made a dash for an exit as Wolverine skid to a stop and had some heavy shelves fall and land on him knocking him out. Scott snuck up and knocked the cop out and then entered to get Logan, Scott was shocked as he pulled the shelf off Logan as he watched Logan's body heal right before his eyes.

Scott lifted and was once again shocked as the sheer weight of Logan caught him off guard "Next time lay off the cheeseburgers" he muttered as he attempted to get out of harm's way. He was dismayed to see that the Mutant Response Team had arrived and was about to spot them when suddenly everything froze.

Scott looked around when Charles Xavier's voice rang through his mind "Move Scott, get everyone back here now." Scott nodded and as quickly as possible dragged Logan out of the mall making sure not to bump into any of the frozen people and into the van.


	4. Home

**Basement of the X-Mansion**

"What a disaster" stated Scott as he took a seat outside of the infirmary where he had just dropped of an unconscious Logan. Jean and Ororo had gotten the children to their rooms and found a place for Jubilee to sleep for the night. They had brought the two of them to the Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, a very prestigious private school on the outside and a safe haven for young mutants to learn to control their powers and exist in coexistence with regular humans on the inside.

Charles came from around the corner "What happened?" he asked as Scott stood up.

Scott shrugged "Not really sure, one minute we are getting ready to leave and the next all hell is breaking loose. Jean read the mind of the guy that Hank is looking at, called him Logan, said he was trying to help a girl and that we needed to try and help." Scott explained getting silent nods from Charles. "How is the news reporting the story?"

Charles sighed "How it usually does unfortunately…the media is stirring up fears regarding another attack by the Brotherhood on civilians. There were a few minor injuries but nothing serious although the officer that Ororo had to take down is not painting a very good picture."

Scott nodded as Hank McCoy joined them in the hall, McCoy was one of the smartest men on the planet and he was also covered in thick blue fur that had earned him the nickname Beast. "He is stable and based on everything I see perfectly healthy" he said getting a stunned look from Scott.

"I watched him take a grenade at point blank" Scott said as Hank nodded.

"Yes, that is the incredible part as I was taking blood samples and the usual tests I found that our new friend in there has an incredible ability to heal. I will perform a few more tests with the samples I have detected and I'll look over the scans closely, I'll know more in the morning" explained Hank getting an approving nod Scott.

"Thank you, Hank, try and get some sleep…and don't forget about our guest in the morning" advised Charles, Hank had been there from the beginning when Charles first opened the school and was one of its professors.

Hank nodded "Get some rest Gentlemen. I gave him a sedative so that he rests through the night, no need to worry about him tonight" he explained as he walked off.

**X-Mansion**

Jubilee looked around as Ororo brought her some pajamas to change into, "Don't worry we have plenty of clothes for you to wear" she said as Jubilee removed her jacket and went into the bathroom to change. Ororo looked at the jacket and spotted the blood "Are you hurt?" she asked holding up the jacket.

Jubilee walked out with the pajamas on and looked at the jacket "No, some men attacked me at a bar. That guy from the mall protected me" she explained getting a nod from Ororo who took the clothes.

"We'll get these washed up for you, and we'll talk about what's next in the morning" explained Ororo as Jubilee crawled into the bed, clearly uncomfortable. "Anything you want to know before I leave you for the night?"

Jubilee had more questions than she could wrap her head around but only one seemed to matter at that moment "Why me?" she asked getting a sigh from Ororo who put Jubilee's clothes down and kneeled next to the bed.

"First things first, there is no real rhyme or reason why it happened all that matters is that it did and now you have to figure out how to live with it. People have all sorts of reactions to getting abilities, some panic and hide, others get angry lash out. This place is a school that is meant to show young mutants how to control their abilities and live with everyone mutant and human alike" answered Ororo almost laughing at how similar the speech was to one that Xavier had given her as a child. Jubilee nodded as she laid on the bed and Ororo helped tuck her in. "How well do you know that man that we brought with us?" she asked as she was curious especially as Scott had brought him unconscious and bleeding and within five minutes of getting on the road his wounds healed on their own.

Jubilee shook her head "I don't know him. I was about to get attacked when he stepped in, he must have followed me from the bar to the mall where he saved me from that crazy frog guy" she replied getting a small chuckle from Ororo.

"That mutant is named Toad and he is with the Brotherhood of Mutants who we are pretty sure were trying to recruit you" Ororo explained thinking back to how many mutants Magneto's people had beaten them to.

"Why me? I don't have anything that special outside of the uncontrollable energy that comes out of my hands" remarked Jubilee as she got more comfortable.

Ororo was about to speak when the door opened and Professor Xavier entered the room "Magneto believes that humans are all intolerant and will do whatever it takes to destroy the mutant race. He believes that in order to survive…mutants must stand together against humanity until victory is achieved. For Magneto, victory is domination. Here, at this school we seek to live side by side regular humans and walk into the future hand in hand." Charles got right next to the bed "Welcome Jubilee, I would like for you to join us here for a few weeks so we can make sure your powers are under control. If you wish to leave after that I won't stop you but I want to at least make sure that you can walk around in public without it looking like the Fourth of July" explained Charles getting a quick laugh from Jubilee who nodded.

"Thanks for the help" she remarked as she got a nod from Charles who led Ororo out of the room. Jubilee closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

**Jean and Scott's Room**

Scott opened the door to his shared room and found Jean already in her pajamas ready for bed "What a night" she remarked as he took a seat in a chair after closing the door and started to change for bed. The two had been together so long that they often were able to speak to each other without actually saying words. Jean could tell that Scott was tense "Worried about the guy we brought from the mall?"

Scott nodded "The guy was going toe to toe with Sabretooth and walked away with no actual damage. I just don't have a good feeling about him" he explained as Jean listened.

She sighed "When I read his mind for that brief moment in the mall all I could see was worry for that girl Jubilee. He didn't even know her name but he made the choice to protect her. If he can make that choice than I think we should be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt." Jean laid down as Scott thought, "Besides he's kind of cute" she remarked causing Scott to turn and stare at her with his mouth open. Jean laughed as Scott fell back into bed with her.


	5. Enter Magneto

**Boston**

Magneto walked through the streets of Boston, Massachusetts, his phone rang. He looked and saw that Mystique was calling him. He answered, "Did you find the girl?" he asked without breaking stride.

"No, someone else got involved and then Xavier's kiddies showed up" she answered over the phone prompting a sigh from Magneto.

"Very well, get Sabretooth and Toad back to base, I'm almost in position in Boston and I will be joining you there as soon as I'm done" he ordered, "Also have Sabretooth call his friend he mentioned before we separated, we could use the extra pair of hands after all" he finished as he hung up the phone.

Magneto rounded a corner and came to his destination, the Robert Kelly Correctional Facility or the Box as mutants had come to call it. Robert Kelly was a Massachusetts Senator with aspirations far higher than the Senate and he had chosen mutants as his path to greener pastures. Kelly had pushed for stronger regulations for mutants and was the main supporter of Mutant Registration and just to ensure that the public understood he funded the Robert Kelly Correctional Facility, a prison specially designed to handle mutant criminals.

Magneto was across the street from the prison, seething knowing that the mutants inside were being held in far rougher conditions than other humans that had abilities in other prisons. Magneto had plans, plans that would ensure that something like this would never happen again.

**The Box**

Fred Dukes sat inside his cell, looking around from spot to spot looking for something to do, Dukes mutation was his pliable body mass which pretty much worked like armor. He had been arrested trying to rob a bank in Dallas, when he went to make his escape he accidentally dropped the vault he was carrying on his own head. He woke up here and discovered that his cell had been designed to keep his body mass in check. He sighed and looked to his left spotting a much smaller man.

Dominikos Petrakis was attempting to nap in his cell but the metal slab that the guards called a bed was so uncomfortable; sleep was something he had not truly enjoyed since being arrested escaping from ICE agents. He had used his ability to create seismic waves from his hands to escape from the agents it didn't help him when they waited for him to sleep before sending in one of the Mutant Response Teams that managed to tranquilize him before he could get his bearings and use his power. His cell had been suspended off of the ground with seismic resistant walls that reverberated his waves back into the cell that caused him great pain.

David Cannon was doing some push ups in his cell, hoping for a second round with Iron Man that he didn't get when he escaped the Raft almost a year ago now. He didn't stay free long, when Loki dropped them all off in New York Cannon got cocky and went to a bar and was quickly surrounded by Shield Agents. His spinning ability didn't get him out of that jam and he was moved to the Box when it opened eight months ago. The guards would often taunt him with his nickname Whirlwind, since he whirl-winded right back into prison. His cell was designed to contain both high winds and friction in order to help keep his mutant abilities in check.

Outside the guards were in the middle of their nightly routine, checking fences and cleaning up any trash protesters had left behind out front. The protesters had flocked to the prison daily ever since it opened and it annoyed the guards to no end since they caught the brunt of the protesting. There had even been a political rally a few months back from a rival of Senator Kelly. The guard looked over when he started hearing screams from outside the prison, there was just a man there with a cape on and very distinct helmet. There was no time to react by the time the cars started flying over the fence and into the guard towers.

Magneto used the cars to distract the guards long enough for him to use his powers to pull the outer fence out of the ground and send it towards the Box. The guards were taken by surprise when the metal fence pushed them up against the stone exterior of the prison. Magneto used his mutant power to feel for metal within the structure and smiled, the outer walls were concrete and had metal pipe framed for support. He reached out and pulled the metal out and made himself an entrance that led to a large parking lot. Guards had come flooding out of the main building as Magneto reached out and flung a few vehicles towards them, a few of them were crushed underneath while the others made a hasty retreat back inside.

Magneto thought carefully as he thought back to the blueprints that Mystique acquired from the architect's files. He found the place he was looking for as he used his powers to find a large pipe that was meant for draining any water that built up from rain. The pipe erupted from under the blacktop of the parking lot as water trickled out of both ends of the broken pipe. Magneto used all of his power to force the pipe through the wall and into the main cell block.

Magneto entered and looked up finding dozens of different cells, all designed for the specific mutant in mind. He then used the Earth's magnetic fields to float his way up a few levels of catwalk to the third level where his main targets were located. He landed with a dull thud on the catwalk as he looked over the inmates around him.

Dukes and Dominikos looked at each other and then quietly back at Magneto who approached their cells. "I'm building an army, interested?" he asked without any other explanation or words.

Dukes looked around "Get me outta here and I'm in" he said as Magneto smiled. Dukes waited patiently for Magneto to do something when he looked at Dominikos.

"As far as I'm concerned, you are about to be stuck in here just like us so what's the point?" Dominikos said as he saw guards approaching with their weapons drawn. Magneto turned and tore the piece of catwalk the guards were standing on apart and watched as they fell back to the main floor. Dominikos watched the guards fall before smiling "Works for me" he said as Magneto reached up and tore the supports that held Dominikos cell up off the ground. When the cell fell, Magneto then used the various metal around him to crack the cell enough for Petrakis to use his seismic abilities to break out.

Petrakis looked at Magneto who spoke "I saw in your file they call you Avalanche", Petrakis nodded, "Well Avalanche, free every mutant in the facility starting with Dukes here. We have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it." Avalanche nodded as he used his seismic power to free Dukes and then Cannon who spun his way towards Magneto.

Cannon stopped just short of Magneto and looked the old man over, "We all have to work together to get out of here so why don't you spin around and take care of any guards you can while Dukes and I secure our exit" ordered Magneto getting a scoff from Whirlwind who sped off to do the job.

Fred Dukes stepped behind Magneto who motioned for the large young man to follow him, "We need a name for you Dukes" Magneto stated as he led him downstairs as Avalanche and Whirlwind worked.

"Well, my momma always called me Blob" he stated as he pushed an injured guard left by Whirlwind over a railing as more and more mutants were set free.

Magneto looked back "That will do" he said as they reached the ground level and finding that most of the mutants were about to start heading towards the exit. Magneto then stepped in front of them "Not so fast my brothers and sisters" he said getting them all to stop. "What has happened here cannot be allowed to happen again anywhere…Homosuperior is the dominant species on this planet and Homosapien will do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening. We must unite to prevent this genocide before it begins, join me and together we can take the next step towards the age of the mutant" he announced getting cheers from most of the crowd. Magneto turned looked out of the hole he had made with the pipe noting the police present waiting for his newly raised mutant army and smiled. He was going to save Mutant kind and he now had the army to do it.


	6. Adamantium

**X-Mansion**

Hank had called Charles, Scott, Jean, and Ororo down to his lab in the basement of the mansion. It had been an early start as they waited for the morning news but Hank had interrupted explaining that he needed to show them the results of the tests he performed on Logan. They had been sitting a few minutes when Hank entered with his blue fur unkempt from a full night's work, "Good morning everyone, thank you all for coming on time" he greeted as he fired up the computer bringing a 3-D image of Logan.

"We didn't really have a choice Hank, I think you sent me about thirteen different messages this morning about being here on time" stated Ororo as she sipped her coffee.

"Yes, sorry about that but I have another meeting in a few hours and explaining this more than once would be very time consuming. Logan as Jean has called him is one of the most fascinating mutants I have ever seen." Hank hit a button and Logan's skeletal structure was highlighted on the screen. "Now you all saw his healing factor at work."

"It reminded me of Sabretooth" stated Scott thinking back to his several battles with the feral mutant. "The guy went one on one with Sabretooth and then took a grenade to the face and was perfectly fine when I pulled him into our van."

"Similar but very different, I've had my theories on Sabretooth's healing factor but the rate that Logan's body heals is something I've never even theorized as possible, as I took blood samples I realized that Logan's skeletal structure is something beyond even mutant possible" explained Hank as the zoomed in on Logan's bones. "His bones are coated in metal."

"Like steel?" asked Jean was she watched the holographic recreation of Logan's body rotate for view.

"No, not steel. It's an extremely rare metal called Adamantium, it's the hardest metal on earth. Logan's claws could put a hole through Captain America's shield." Hank explained with his awe clear in his eyes.

"What does that have to do with his healing?" asked Scott as his unease about their unconscious guest was beginning to grow.

"Well, the Adamantium laced bones are not naturally occurring." Hank answered as the eyes of everyone in the room grew.

"Someone did this to him" stated Charles as the enormity of the situation fell upon them all. "an experiment."

Hank nodded "Someone managed to get Adamantium into its liquid form and pumped it into his body, it had to be piped into his skeletal structure and allowed to cool in order to coat the bones the way it does." Hank handed out papers that detailed Adamantium.

"So his bones are indestructible?" asked Ororo as she scanned the document.

Hank was about to answer when Scott spoke first "This guy is dangerous with these kind of abilities he could cut his way right through just about anyone he wanted to" he said standing to go and check on Logan.

"No need to worry Scott, I've given him enough sedatives to knock out an elephant he isn't going anywhere" explained Hank causing Scott to turn back and walk back to his seat. "To undergo this procedure his muscles, bones, organs, hell every single cell of his body would have been pushed to the limit and probably beyond. The claws are naturally occurring as far as I can tell but popping them out like that would tear through every muscle in his hands, even moving at all must tear some level of his tissue surrounding the bones. Logan's healing factor is healing him probably every moment of every day."

"Remarkable" stated Charles as he began to turn his wheelchair and leave the room. "I will speak to Logan and try to figure out what happened before the mall. I think he would give us the insight we need as opposed to bothering Jubilee with it. How is she by the way?"

Ororo stood "I told her to go ahead and have a look around if she wanted, I'm checking on her once we are done here" she stated as she made her way to the door with Charles.

"Good, help her get comfortable and bring her by my office this afternoon" he said getting an affirmative nod from Ororo who left the room as Scott, Hank, and Jean approached him. "Hank, is everything ready for our meeting?"

"Of course, Charles, everything will be in your office within the hour" Hank replied with a smile as he waited for everyone to start moving intending to introduce himself to Logan once he was awake.

"Scott, Jean…if the two of you would please keep an eye on the children today, I'll be busy all day with everything and I won't be able to be on top of them as much as usual" he ordered as Scott and Jean smiled and headed into the hall with Charles and Hank.

The group approached the room where Logan was resting and were shocked when the slid open and they found the room empty. "Where is he?" asked Scott as he looked to Hank who shrugged.

"The sedatives should have kept him incapacitated for a few more hours, unless…" explained Hank as his voice trailed off.

"Unless what?" asked Scott getting nervous.

"If his healing factor also gives his immune system and his metabolism a boost…he could in theory shake off a sedative far faster than I originally planned" explained Hank.

"Meaning?" asked Scott as he looked down the hall both ways.

"Meaning he may already be up and very much aware of his surroundings" stated Hank with a slight embarrassed tone in his voice.

Scott looked at Jean "Lock down the school and get the children to their rooms" ordered Scott.

"No" answered Charles from behind. "Logan just woke up in a strange place and based on the thoughts Jean was able to see from him, I don't believe he would harm anyone unless provoked. Lock the place down and isolate him and this will all feel like an attack and we would have a real problem on our hands. Hank get your things to my office, the three of us will track down Logan" ordered Charles as the group split up.

Logan peeked around the corner, he had managed to escape from the room he was being kept in easily and had even managed to find the elevator but now he was a little lost. He was clearly in a large house based on the interior design of the place but he could smell a lot of different scents, there had to be several dozen people living here. He could hear kids yelling and running around as he turned a corner and dipped into a room.

Logan hoped that the girl was okay but he needed to get out of here as soon as he could "Where are you running too?" rang a voice in his head. Logan turned expecting someone behind him but found nothing. The drugs they had given him must have still been working through his system. "The door at the end of the hall to your left" came the voice again. Logan shook his head and popped his claws out of instinct.

He backed out of the room and looked left to find the door the voice had mentioned, he sighed as he decided to move right instead. "What are you afraid of?" the voice asked this time forcing Logan to turn his gaze back to the door.

"Screw it" he said as he retracted his claws and marched to the door, he reached and turned the knob finding an empty office waiting for him. He scanned the room, using his enhanced senses, he smelled a bunch of scents but one was more prominent than the others which was probably the owner of the office. Logan shook his head and was about to leave when he turned to find three people at the doorway.

Scott was ready for a fight when Logan turned, while Jean simply watched and Charles began speaking "Welcome" he said with Logan immediately recognizing him as the voice in his mind. Logan looked over the man in the wheelchair as he spoke "My name is Charles Xavier" Logan was looking for an escape "No need to run" he heard echo through his mind.

"Stop that" shouted Logan getting a chuckle from Charles.

Charles nodded "Very well, I will not enter your mind again without permission" he stated getting a confused look from Logan. "You are in a safe place Logan, a school for mutants like yourself." Logan looked out a window and could see several kids running around the grounds. "We brought you here after the mall" explained Charles as the television clicked on. Charles waved his hand towards the young red head "This is Jean Grey and this is Scott Summers…two of my best students" he explained as Jean smiled towards Logan and Scott merely stared.

"What do you want?" asked Logan as the TV started showing security footage from the mall incident before Jean used her telekinesis to switch the TV off.

"We would like to know everything you can remember about last night and why Sabretooth and Toad were at that mall going after Jubilee" explained Charles.

Logan sighed at the mention of Sabretooth "So he kept the name?" he remarked out loud as he thought back to the last time he had seen his brother and at the time he had begun using the name Sabretooth.

"How well do you know Sabretooth?" asked Scott as Logan didn't even turn to look at him.

"Look, the woman in the bar tried to get that girl into a fight and I stepped in. I knew she was in trouble so I tracked her down and found her being chased by that frog guy and Sabretooth" answered Logan ignoring Scott's question.

"Woman?" asked Charles.

"Yeah, there was a woman who got some bikers to try and jump the girl, not sure why exactly" answered Logan as he turned to find the three exchanging looks.

"So, Mystique was there" stated Jean getting a nod from Charles. "Magneto must have been trying to recruit her" she remarked as she turned her gaze back to Logan.

"Is the girl okay?" asked Logan getting a nod from Scott. Logan sighed with relief "So what now? Am I your prisoner?"

Charles laughed "No, you may leave when you wish but unfortunately your face is plastered across all sorts of television screens across the county, staying here may be safer for everyone until things start to cool down" he explained.

Logan looked at the three standing in front of him and snorted "Fine, for now" he said as Hank joined the group with a large binder and a briefcase. Logan nearly popped his claws from shock when he saw the blue furred mutant.

"He's already here and is about to join us" Hank said to Charles who nodded.

"He is nothing if not punctual" stated Charles "Logan, if you would go with Scott and Jean who will find you a room to stay in while Hank and I attend to other business. I will come find you later and we can properly discuss things."

Logan shrugged "What choice do I really have at this point?" he stated walking past Charles and Hank joining Scott and Jean in the hallway. It was there that Logan was greeted by a face he hadn't seen in a very long time.

Nick Fury rounded the corner at the end of the hallway and didn't miss a beat when his eyes locked with Logan's. Fury stopped next to the Logan just outside the doorway "Logan" he said simply with little emotion.

"Fury" Logan replied as the past between the two flashed through his mind.

"Been a long time" stated Fury who didn't have time to ask the questions he wanted to "Still retired?"

"Yup" replied Logan who started to walk away but not without keeping his eyes locked on Fury.

Scott and Jean looked between the two noticing the unspoken history as Logan kept his eyes on Fury until Fury entered the office and closed the door behind him.


	7. Science Project

**X-Mansion**

Nick Fury always found Xavier's office to be a very interesting sight, besides the fact that he had one formidable library just in his office, he also had a very good view that showed off the grounds of his home and now school. The grounds were often filled with young mutants playing games and working on controlling their powers.

Charles Xavier had introduced himself to Nick Fury almost ten years ago, after Fury had been sent to investigate a mutant attack that Charles was attempting to figure out himself. The two worked together and managed to solve everything but that did not diffuse the distrust between the two of them. Fury had originally hoped to used Scott, Jean, or Ororo in his Avengers but Charles had refused, intending to keep the mutant community out of the affairs of Shield for as long as he could.

Fury took a seat across the desk from Charles who moved a few papers around as Hank brought the briefcase that Fury had brought him six months ago along with copies of research and findings. "I must say Director that this was one of the truly fascinating projects of my life" stated Hank beaming with joy.

Fury shook Hank's hand with a small smile "Anything that can help us understand what this is capable of is much appreciated" he replied as Hank nodded.

"You can go now Hank. Director Fury and I have some things to discuss" explained Charles sensing that Fury came here for more than his science project back. Hank nodded and made his way to the exit closing the door behind him. "So, you know Logan?" asked Charles with a questioning look.

"Why don't you just read my mind?" asked Fury with a small challenge in his voice.

"I promised you when we entered into this deal that I would not read your mind unless given express consent which I am positive you have not given." Charles replied with a serious look on his face.

"A man of honor, now that is something you do not see every day, now is it?" asked Fury standing and heading to the window to look out over the grounds.

"Then you operate in the kind of world I very much want nothing to do with" answered Charles turning and wheeling his way next to Fury.

"Logan worked for Shield a few times over the years before his retirement and subsequent disappearance in the 1980's we had dealings and records for him dating back to the war" explained Fury.

"Vietnam?" asked Charles getting a shake of the head from Fury.

"Try World War II, he was asked to be a member of the Howling Commandos by Captain America himself but declined. Once Shield got up and running he would handle the occasional mission for us but like I said in the early 80's he retired and vanished before popping up again in the 90's where I spent a good five years trying to get him to join back but he refused." Fury cracked his neck after what Charles assumed was probably a long flight. "I was surprised to see him on the footage last night, and even more surprised to see him fighting against members of the Brotherhood."

"I figured you would have heard what happened" stated Charles getting a nod from Fury. "Sabretooth and Toad were attempting to kidnap a young mutant at the mall, Logan stepped in and my team happened to be taking the kids on a brief trip there."

"Mystique was there too, we caught her changing forms outside the mall on the way to her escape" explained Fury as Charles nodded.

"I assumed she was at least nearby given Sabretooth being a brute and Toad being a bit of a simpleton" stated Charles noting that Fury was still staring out of the window.

Fury sighed and looked at Charles "You have to get this under control" he stated simply and coolly showing no emotion with his one eye staring into Charles.

"Magneto is a slippery opponent, a zealot and a very convincing man. Places like the Robert Kelly Correctional Facility only bring him more followers" explained Charles prompting a head turn by Fury.

"Haven't seen the news this morning?" asked Fury getting a questioning look from Charles who turned on the small television he kept in his office when he wanted to get some time for himself.

"This is Gloria Grant, reporting for the Daily Bugle as the we continue our live reporting of the attack on the Robert Kelly Correctional Facility in Boston. Hundreds of mutants escaped and were led on a vicious attack on the city, several police officers and civilians were killed as the Brotherhood of Mutants have claimed responsibility for the breakout and subsequent attack" the young reporter stated before Charles turned off the TV.

"I can confirm that Magneto led the assault on the Box, and that he got just about every mutant in the building out" explained Fury as Charles fumed.

"How many are back in custody?" asked Charles knowing that such a brazen attack would lead to more unwarranted hate and discrimination against mutants.

"A small handful, but most disappeared with Magneto which leads us to believe that he now has a small army of mutant's behind him" explained Fury keeping his eye on Charles who sighed.

"Magneto believes in what he is doing and the people that follow him believe the same thing" explained Charles as he turned his chair back towards an old picture he had on a table with him and Magneto when they first met.

"I understand that, but the problem is that he is drawing the kind of attention that will put Mutant-Human relations in a very difficult spot" stated Fury as Charles turned back to face him. "Magneto has caught the attention of the United Nations and the Security Council, the attack in Switzerland was the last straw."

"What does that mean exactly?" asked Charles.

"It means that the deal we have…that Shield will try to leave as many mutant incidents to you and your team as we can in exchange for some level of cooperation will end." Fury sighed as Charles moved himself near his desk. "The Security Council plans on requesting Shield assistance the next time Magneto makes a big move, it was set into motion late last night once Magneto and the Brotherhood took responsibility for the attack" explained Fury.

Charles looked at Fury closely "So what? Planning to send your Avengers in to handle Magneto and his army? Provide him even more ammunition to use when he goes searching for more followers, if Shield brings Magneto down he becomes a martyr which is not something the world can really afford" replied Charles getting a nod from Fury who grabbed the briefcase and folder and made his way towards the door to Charles office.

"You're not wrong Charles, but unfortunately the world may not care what it can and can't afford." Stated Fury opening the door and leaving Charles to his thoughts.

His mind was spinning, what could Erik need an army for? Shield becoming a player in the Brotherhood situation would be like throwing gas on an out of control fire. Charles knew that the X-Men would have to move quickly when Magneto made his next move.


	8. Small Flare Up

**X-Mansion**

Jubilee was feeling very overwhelmed as she walked the halls of the school, the students were all moving around her. Her thoughts traveled back to the orphanage where she lived before finally finding what she thought was going to be her home. A young man approached her "Hello, I'm Armando Munoz. Your new here, right?" he asked getting a nod from Jubilee. "Well, let me be the first to welcome you"

Jubilee looked the young man over, his smile was genuine with his dark skin accenting off of his red shirt. "Yo, Darwin" called out a voice as he looked and waved.

"Darwin?" she asked considering he had just introduced himself as Armando not Darwin.

Armando smiled and waved his hand "Nickname…my mutant ability is reactive evolution" he laughed when Jubilee seemed really confused. "Basically, my body reacts to the environment and evolves to accommodate. Put me in a pool of water and I'll grow gills stuff like that" he said prompting Jubilee's eyes to grow large. "Don't let it intimidate you or anyone for that matter. Everyone is pretty cool and the X-Men keep all of us in line anyway" explained Armando.

"The X-Men?" Jubilee asked.

"The teachers, they work with the Professor. Once you finish schooling here and control your powers you can leave and go about your business, or you can stay here and work at the school and join the X-Men. Professor Xavier sends the X-Men on missions across the world to counteract the Brotherhood. It's real hush hush but when you reach a certain point like I have you get filled in." Armando started walking with Jubilee as other students approached, a man about Jubilee's age, "this is Bobby Drake" introduced Armando.

Bobby bowed to Jubilee as he took her hand and kissed it "Hello, can I show you all sorts of things around the mansion?" he asked with a toothy smile. He had blonde hair that he kept spiked and he clearly considered himself a lady's man. Jubilee ignored his question and followed Armando with Bobby close behind.

"So, what can you do?" she asked Bobby as they came to a lounge area where the three took a seat on a couch with the TV coming on.

"I can manipulate ice, so if you ever need to chill just come find me" Bobby explained as they settled in and flipped the TV on and watched the news.

The news was on, "A group of mutants were caught fighting in a local mall last night where several police officers were injured. No arrests were made but officials felt confident that the incident had no connection to the jailbreak in Boston" the report stated as the students started talking amongst themselves after the report.

"It's stuff like that, that is why mutants are misunderstood and people don't like us. Whoever was involved with this shouldn't be allowed to keep their powers" came a voice getting Armando to turn around.

"Hey, chill out. We don't know what happened" he called out trying to deescalate everything. Jubilee stood up and left the room and the group of students to be by herself.

Logan took a seat on the bed in the room that Scott and Jean had brought him to, he looked around noting the nice bathroom and good view out of a window. Scott brought in a pile clothes. "I had found some extra clothes lying around but it should work for you" he explained getting a nod from Logan.

"You don't like me very much, do you?" asked Logan thanks to all the years of meeting people who didn't like him.

Scott laughed as looked through his red glasses "I think your trouble, and trouble is something that I have to be very aware of. Jubilee mentioned what happened at the bar and I did a little digging. Pretty rough stuff, a few guys got lucky only lost a finger or a hand…quite a few of that little biker gang is in the hospital with serious injuries."

"They were going to hurt her" explained Logan as he took a step toward Scott.

"I know. But what I see there was a lack of restraint, maybe that's because they left you no choice and if that's the case then so be it. What I have to worry about is if you did that to them because you enjoyed it" explained Scott. The two of them locked eyes "The clothes belong to my friend Remy, try not to poke holes in them." He finished as he turned to leave the room.

"Not going to tell me to stay away from your girlfriend?" asked Logan hoping to score the last laugh in the brief confrontation.

Scott stopped at the door and turned around "I'd be more worried about yourself than be worried about Jean." He opened the door and walked out into the hallway.

Logan looked the clothes over and checked the pockets and found a deck of cards "This Remy must be a gambler" he remarked before tossing the deck and taking a seat on the bed. He sighed as he tried to calm himself, he would stay for a little while but staying in one place always led to problems. He was almost asleep when he heard a weak knock on the door, he got up and opened to find Jubilee waiting for him.

"Thought I should come see you" she remarked with a small voice as Logan nodded. She entered the room and took a seat in a chair next to the bed

"Glad you're okay" he said as he looked the young lady over. "I'm Logan."

"Jubilee" she said with a smile. "I just wanted to thank you for saving me yesterday."

Logan nodded "No problem, glad I could help. So what do you think of this place?" he asked wanting to get more of a sense of the whole place.

Jubilee shrugged "Met a few people, seemed nice but everyone here is just in control of themselves and I'm not. It's a little overwhelming."

Logan sighed "Well, if anyone gives you trouble just point me at them, I'll give them a good reminder of manners" he said with a smile. Jubilee laughed and Logan found himself liking girl he had saved in the bar.

The two of them talked for the next few hours and Jubilee ended up sleeping the bed meant for Logan and he ended up lounging in the chair next to the bed. Until late that night when they were shaken awake by banging on the other side of the wall.

Logan heard it first and jumped up as he could tell this was a much more vicious banging than one would normally hear. Jubilee snapped up and looked at Logan who waved at her to stay put. Logan went to the hall and found Hank and the Professor approaching the room "Back to your room Logan" the Professor ordered as Hank opened the door and was subsequently thrown back against the hallway wall.

Logan popped his claws as the Professor entered the room "Jean!" he shouted as Logan went to the door way and was shocked by the sight. Scott was pinned on the ceiling and Jean was staring directly at him with the Professor coming to her bedside and putting his hands on her head. "Focus Jean, come back to us" he muttered as he entered her mind.

Xavier wasn't worried about Logan at this point, he needed to ensure the safety of Scott and more importantly to check on Jean. "Everything was still in place, just a small flare up" he muttered to himself as he was able to relax Jean with his mind and wake her.

Jean shot up as Scott fell from the ceiling and landed next to her, Logan could see the bruises from the ordeal as Hank barreled past him and looked Scott over. "What happened?" she asked looking at Scott who was still recovering. "Another nightmare?" she asked as the Professor nodded and she started to cry.

"It's okay, we'll run more scans in the morning" the Professor assured her as Hank helped Scott out of bed and down to the infirmary.

"Is Scott okay?" she asked as Scott looked back with a smile.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Hank is going to give me a quick check up and I'll be right back up." Scott answered as Hank led him past Logan who looked at Jean one more time.

"You can go now Logan" stated the Professor as Logan nodded and closed the door before making his way back to Jubilee. The other doors on the floor were open and some students were looking to see what happened.

Logan entered the room and closed the door behind him, Jubilee looked at him with a questioning gaze "So much for control" he remarked as he reassured Jubilee who fell back to sleep, although he didn't get another minute himself.


	9. Check Up

**Beast's Lab**

Scott put his shirt back on as Hank had given him the ok, "most damage she has done to you but nothing a few days won't take care of" he explained as Scott stood up. "Both the Professor and myself warned that staying in the same room as her would be dangerous."

"I'm not going to leave her alone" replied Scott, "Where is she now?" he asked as Hank finished putting his instruments away.

"She is with the Professor like she usually is after one of her nightmares" answered Hank. "Best thing you can do is go back to bed and get some rest, they could be talking the rest of the night."

Scott sighed and began walking towards the exit "I just wish they could get this all of this figured out" he said as the door opened and closed behind him.

Hank sighed "Me too, my boy. Me too."

**Xavier's Office**

Charles looked at Jean carefully as she sat in his office, the nightmares were becoming more frequent and worse. Charles was beginning to think that Scott would be in danger soon if they couldn't find a way to control Jean's outbursts. "Remain calm Jean, Scott is fine. I Just need you to talk to me" Charles said hoping to find some way to help Jean.

"The nightmares are getting worse Professor" she said with fear dripping from every word. "This time it was all hate, destruction, death, and…fire."

Charles nodded along trying his best to keep his composure as his mind played out scenarios in his mind. "Just remember Jean these are dreams, but your powers react to them, We need to try and get the nightmares under control" he said as Jean looked around the room.

"Is Scott really okay?" she asked hoping she hadn't hurt the man she loved too badly.

Charles nodded "He's fine, nothing was broken. And as usual Scott doesn't blame you for anything. I might ask that you and him, stay in separate rooms until your nightmares have subsided" he advised getting a firm head shake from Jean.

"Scott keeps me calm when they start, he usually gets me awake before we get to that point but tonight he didn't realize in time what was happening" she explained as Charles continued to weigh his options.

"Very well, but keep me informed on how you are feeling and make sure you see Hank in the morning so he can give you the full once over" he ordered as he led Jean from his office and back on her way towards her room.

Jean walked away as Hank came around the corner and towards the Professor, she stopped him in the hall "I'm so sorry" she said as she pulled the blue mutant in for a hug.

"It's quite all right Jean. It was out of your hands at that point, we'll get you sorted out just fine" he said with a smile. "Scott should already be back at the room by now, see you in the morning and please get some rest." Jean nodded and cautiously made her way back to her room.

Hank entered Charles room and closed the door behind him, "How's Scott?" Charles asked.

"Bruised and beaten up but nothing serious but this is starting to get out of hand, when she first came here it was every year or two now it's a few times a month and that's only the ones we know about…I'm sure Scott and Jean are keeping a few outbursts to themselves" explained Hank as Charles nodded.

"I know but what choice do we have?" replied Charles.

Hank shrugged "Maybe we should contact Korvus?"

Charles scoffed "No, we are not there yet…we can still find a way to salvage this" he said as he turned to look out into the darkened grounds. "How are the students?"

"Most have no idea anything happened and the ones that do seem calm but word will certainly spread amongst them over the next day or so like usual" replied Hank as he moved to head back to bed himself. "Everything is still working in Jeans mind like it is supposed to, right?"

Charles nodded "For now everything is holding and I don't see that changing at least for now" he replied getting a sigh of relief from Hank. "Get to bed Hank, I'll see you in the morning." Hank nodded and made his exit leaving Charles to his own thoughts. He didn't have the time to deal with this particular problem right then and there, he needed to get Magneto under control first.

Charles left his office and used the hidden elevator in the hall to get to the basement where all the labs and equipment were located. He left the elevator and turned heading past the labs and briefing room and directly to the large door at the end of the room. The room was where Cerebro was located, Charles used Cerebro to amplify his abilities and allow him to see everyone on the planet, well everyone except Magneto who thanks to the helmet he acquired years ago, it prevented telepaths from entering his mind and he wore at almost all times.

Charles needed to act quickly and find something or someone related to Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants. As Charles placed the helmet upon his head that connected him to the machine his mind filled with people all over the world, he had long ago figured out how separate regular humans from mutants which often allowed him to focus his strengths far more effectively. Since finding Magneto was going to be impossible with Cerebro, Xavier instead focused his efforts on the people around Magneto, such as Mystique. The blue mutant who had been an early recruit when Charles and Erik started trying to build the early versions of what would come to be known as the X-Men.

Mystique was strong, smart and above all else sneaky, her ability to shapeshift had allowed Magneto access to thousands of places he would normally have no chance of getting too. Finding specific people was always a tough task regardless of how hard Charles would focus, and too much focus in Cerebro was dangerous. Mystique was smart enough to keep her profile low and blend in with everything else, finding Sabretooth could prove more useful but even he managed to hide himself most of the time.

Charles would spend the rest of the night scouring the Earth with Cerebro with no success.


	10. Merc with the Mouth

**Nicaragua**

Erik watched carefully as the large transport plane that he had commandeered to get his newly recruited mutants landed on the airstrip that he had quietly taken from a drug cartel. It was their temporary base of operations until they had succeeded in their mission. The new recruits led by the newly christened Avalanche, Whirlwind, and Blob exited the plane and made their way to the hangar where Mystique was waiting. She sent them all on their way to the small base that had originally served for the Nicaraguan government before the Cartel seized it for themselves. The dealers had claimed that an American had helped them take the base several years earlier but Mystique had no worries of any kind of retaliation.

Erik approached to find Sabretooth and Toad waiting as he motioned for Avalanche, Whirlwind and Blob to join them. Magneto looked at Sabretooth "Where is your friend?" he asked.

Before Sabretooth could answer the bathroom toilet flushed and the door kicked open as someone in a red and black outfit with a mask on walked into the open air "May want to let that air out for a bit, ate some Nicaraguan gas station chimichangas on the way in." He walked forward spotting Magneto and took a ceremonial bow "Deadpool, at your service." Deadpool's given name was Wade Wilson and he was a part of the Weapon X program where he had met both Sabretooth and Logan. He was slightly different then them however given that the procedures that he was put through worked to give him a form of their powers. Deadpool was gifted with a healing factor like Logan which had proved very useful for him given his mercenary line of work, it also drove him utterly insane. The insanity usually drove him to joke constantly and mostly annoy anyone who was within ear shot of him earning the nickname the "Merc with the mouth".

Magneto sighed, he had heard Sabretooth tell stories about an old mercenary friend from his days with the Canadian government and how he had been the most annoying person he had ever been around but Magneto could feel that it was going to be a long time before he grew used to Deadpool's presence. Deadpool's abilities to heal and smack talk his targets to death made him a valuable member for the mission. "It is almost time, within the next week Mystique will have gained control of the transportation we need and then we will press on to our target and take it in the name of all mutants" Magneto explained getting nods from most of the group around him.

Sabretooth snarled "What about Logan?" he asked getting a look from Magneto.

"Yes, the brother you mentioned" replied Magneto getting a chuckle from Deadpool.

"So old Wolvie is still out there, huh?" Deadpool remarked as Magneto waved Avalanche, Whirlwind, Blob and Toad away leaving himself, Mystique, Sabretooth and Deadpool. "Dude was a beast back in the Weapon X days" Deadpool continued as Sabretooth lightly nodded along.

Magneto looked between the two of them, Sabretooth had informed him of Weapon X and the experiments the program had performed on mutants, "Tell me everything you can remember about Weapon X" Magneto stated as Sabretooth and Deadpool retold the events as best they could.

**Genosha**

The sights and sound of the bayou were gracing his senses, his childhood home, a decrepit old manor that his adopted family used. The shingles were falling off the windows and the carpet was worn out and dirty but it was better than the streets that they would have been living on otherwise. The bugs bit them at night and they had to watch for alligators at all time but it was home. The family were thieves by trade and were very good at it, but it was never as peaceful as it was at this moment.

"Wake up mutant" came the voice of the driver ripping Remy LeBeau from his unrestful sleep. He looked around noting the small box he was forced to use as a sleeping area, he rubbed his neck and found that the collar that was installed when he arrived was still in place and working to keep him from using his powers.

His mind traveled to the love of his life, Anna Marie or Rogue as she was commonly known as by their X-Men brothers and sisters. She had long brunette colored hair with a silver streak running through it that accented her paler complexion and fit with her very southern accent. She was perfect for him and at this point he was wishing that he had joined her on that vacation he agreed to skip to check out Genosha, he had told her it wasn't a big deal but that he would probably be gone a few weeks and there was the problem, anytime he had told her a few weeks it usually ended up being a few months meaning she wouldn't suspect anything was wrong for a good amount of time and Remy wasn't sure if he was going to make it that long.

He walked out into the sunlit working zone on the island nation of Genosha located just off the coast of southeast Africa. It was marketed as a safe zone for mutants, but so far, all Remy had found was mutants coming in droves and subsequently captured and taken into slavery. Remy looked to his left and right and saw hundreds of mutants being moved out by human drivers to get to work.

Remy started working, as he did he wished his powers were still within his grasp to use, in a normal situation Remy could charge objects with kinetic energy basically allowing him to turn any object into a dangerous projectile. The other mutants around him hadn't talked to him in the week had been here and he doubted they would start, the last mutants who were speaking were beaten and left in the heat all day. They were digging and preparing a large site for a building to go up in its place for who knows what purpose.

Remy knew that he was stuck here permanently unless he could find either a way to escape or contact the X-Men whom he knew would swoop in to save them if they were made aware of the situation.


	11. Omega Mutant

**Xavier's Office**

Logan looked around the office as he waited for Xavier to meet him, Ororo had told him to wait while the Professor finished a lesson with the students. Logan had been here almost a week and he was pretty much ready to start moving on. He had originally planned on staying until Jubilee was comfortable which was going just fine but something in him kept him from leaving. He trusted these people and if they were going to be squaring off against his brother they were going to need his help.

The Professor had asked for Logan to meet him, the Professor felt he could help Logan with his issues, not that he was really ever interested in getting them solved by a bald psychic in a wheelchair. Logan was examining a few books when the door opened and Charles Xavier entered the office. "I see you found my copy of Freshwater Road" noted Charles as he moved behind his desk, and Logan left the bookshelf and took a seat across from the Professor.

"So, what exactly am I doing here?" asked Logan as Charles put his things away.

"Teaching is something I always planned to do, you know… when I finished schooling in Genetics I was hoping to help shape the next generation through that. I never imagined that I would be helping to shape the next generation of mutants" he said with a chuckle. "I know that you have been through a lot Logan and I want to help you."

Logan sighed "I don't need your help" he replied with a look at the door starting to wish that he had chosen not to see the Professor.

Charles had often given his students advice and often found himself in the role of helping them through all of their issues since many of the students are abandoned by parents who didn't understand what they were going through. "Listen, I understand, I do. If you think you're okay then I believe you. How about you just talk about your history then? I've become very interested in you especially since you seem to know Sabretooth so well."

"I know him as Victor Creed and I would say that yes I know him well, he is my older brother after all." Explained Logan noting the only slight look of shock on Charles face. "Not surprised?"

"No, I assumed you were related in some way given how closely related your powers are I would have been more surprised if you weren't related" Charles responded getting a nod from Logan.

Logan pondered what he should tell of his history, over the week he could tell he could trust Charles and his X-Men as he called them. "You read my mind?"

Charles shook his head, "I won't read your mind without permission but I can usually tell if someone is lying though, the mind tends to get a little louder when a person is lying. Very helpful in a school environment."

"Okay, I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you my story, but first I need to know what was up with Jean the first night I was here. I saw her throw that doctor and Scott around like they were toys and yet nobody explained a damn thing" bartered Logan.

Charles thought for a moment, he could feel in his bones that Logan belonged here whether he or anyone else knew it yet. Telling him as much of the truth that he had told everyone else was going to be how he gained Logan's trust. "Jean is the most powerful mutant I have ever encountered. Hank says that she might be the next step in the evolutionary chain."

"Aren't all mutants the next step?" asked Logan as he tried to absorb as much information as he could.

"She is beyond even that…Hank has coined the term Omega Mutant. Basically, the next evolutionary step for humans are mutants, the next evolutionary step for mutants would be an Omega mutant, something with so much power we cannot even begin to comprehend what they are capable of. Jean is the first and frankly her abilities are something that no one can truly control, despite her best efforts to do so Jean sometimes loses that control. She must be in focus at all times and unfortunately that can slip while she sleeps, outbursts like that are very rare but we are working to control them" Charles explained as he could see that Logan was trying to read him.

"Your leaving something out" remarked Logan getting a now shocked look from Charles. "There's something you aren't telling me but I have a feeling you haven't told the others either." Logan leaned back in his chair "I won't pry as long as you agree to not pry into things I don't want to talk about…is that fair?" Charles nodded with relief.

"Okay then, hope you got some time on your hands bub."

**Jubilee's Dorm**

Jubilee was flipping through channels when she got a knock on the door, "Come in" she said without a second thought.

Jean Grey entered the room with a friendly smile "Just wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing" she remarked as she took a seat on the bed next to Jubilee.

"This place is amazing" replied Jubilee whom Jean could tell was putting on a brave face for her.

Jean gave a knowing smirk "I know that adjusting an environment like this can be difficult, new people are difficult alone much less when they have abilities."

Jubilee dropped her gaze "It's been tough but moving from foster home to foster home was a lot like this but at least here I can find a spot where I can just be me and get some air if I need. Armando and Bobby have been very nice to me and are helping get used to life around here."

Jean smiled "They are some of the good ones here. Stick with them and you can't go wrong but if you ever need anything please let me, Scott or Ororo know. We are always here to help you if you need it."

Jubilee smiled "Not to mention Logan."

Jean smiled again "You really like him, don't you?"

Jubilee shrugged "We came here at the same time so we are kind of going through the same thing, besides he saved me when he didn't have to, so he must be a good person."

Jean nodded affirmatively and stood "I think he is trying his best to be…Have a good afternoon and don't forget dinner, Hank is making spaghetti and that is always a spectacular meal."

Jubilee laughed as Jean left and closed the door behind her, she looked back at the screen to see a headline "Parents want adopted daughter to come home", she turned up the TV.

It was her adopted parents, her mother was speaking as the volume went up "We just want her to come home to us, we are worried sick" she said. Jubilee didn't believe it at first but yet there it was. Suddenly going home felt like something real, someone wanted her, she wasn't just the throw away, even the little boy the couple already had was standing with his parents. Jubilee looked at her yellow coat and made a decision.


	12. History of Wolverine

**Xavier's Office**

"My birth name is James Howlett. I was born in 1888 to John and Elizabeth Howlett" started Logan noting the only light shock on Xavier's face. "Surprised?"

"Somewhat, Hank mentioned that with your healing factor you were probably older than I am. 1888 is quite a bit older than I had anticipated" stated Charles getting a chuckle from Logan.

"Glad I still look good for my age" Logan joked as Charles chuckled himself.

"Where were you born?" Xavier asked as he took a sip of his tea.

"Alberta, Canada. My father was a wealthy man, or at least that's what everyone thought, turned out my mother had an affair with the groundskeeper, Thomas Creed." Logan looked serious as he spoke, "I was sickly as a child, spent a lot of my time in bed, confined to my room."

Charles nodded "When did your powers manifest?"

"One night, Thomas came calling for me with his son Victor in tow" answered Logan.

"Sabretooth?" asked Charles realizing that he would learn more about Magneto's brutish henchman as well as Logan.

Logan nodded before continuing, "Victor came to my room, we had played together a few times over the years and he was older than me. I didn't hear specifics but I did hear the commotion down stairs. Victor told me the truth, we were brothers and that his father was actually my father. I didn't believe him at first and was about to go to sleep when I heard my mother scream."

Charles could sense the distress in Logan's mind as he recalled the traumatic event as Logan continued "I ran downstairs to find my father on the floor bleeding out, Victor followed me downstairs and looked around to find Thomas Creed with blood on his hands. I suddenly felt something in me…snap. I felt a pain in my hands as my claws popped for the first time." Logan looked at his hands as he spoke.

Charles sighed as he thought of all the mutants whose powers manifested at the worst possible times. "How old were you?" Charles asked pulling Logan out of his trance.

"I was about to turn eleven. I looked from my father and then at Thomas Creed as he looked in awe as if not knowing what to do. Instincts kicked in and I charged him, my claws sank into his chest and I drove him towards the wall until I felt the claws hit the hard wood behind his body. My mother screamed again as her son murdered a man in front of her, that was the last time I saw her" Logan finished as he took a deep breath allowing his eyes to well up for only a brief moment as if to refocus himself.

Charles nodded "That is awful, Logan. I'm sorry that happened to you. What did you do next?"

Logan looked at Charles carefully "I did what any kid would do, I ran for my life. I must have made it a few hundred yards when Victor tackled me, I thought he was going to kill me for killing his father but instead he pulled me to my feet and told me to relax. He said he was going to take care of me...we were family."

"You know for sure that you are related?" asked Charles trying to learn as much about the two brothers as he could.

Logan sighed "Our abilities are virtually identical and the only physical difference is how much bigger he is than me, so it always made sense that we were related. Besides even if we weren't blood related we might as well be. Anyway we ended up traveling all over North America for the next few years, never staying anywhere too long. While we were in Montreal we ended up picking a nickname that would stick with us, until we were grown. They called Victor "Dog" and they called me "Wolverine" since I was so ferocious in a fight." Logan stood up and paced the room, "We ended up signing up for the military every time a war broke out, it was a good way to make some money and it also let us vent our anger issues."

"So, what changed? Clearly something happened that separated the two of you" theorized Charles getting an affirmative nod from Logan.

"We ended up captured during the second World War by Hydra. They performed experiments on us stuff like that…anyway Captain America shows up and we work with him to free everyone and send Hydra packing. After the mission, he offered me a spot on his team, I chose to decline." Logan reclaimed his spot and took a drink of water from a glass that Charles had laid out for him during the discussion.

"Why decline?" Xavier asked as his interest in helping Logan be better was beginning to take shape.

"Victor's need for blood was starting to wear on me. Figured now would be as good a time as any to leave, so I did. I deserted and left Victor in the middle of France and headed East. Ended up as far as Japan before I went home to Canada hoping to find a nice quiet spot where I could watch the years slowly tick by and never see anyone again. Of course, as usual things don't go how I want them to." Logan could see that he had Xavier's undivided attention. "Why do you care so much about this?"

Charles smiled weakly "I believe that everyone can be a help to society regardless of what they have done, no person is unredeemable. Doesn't mean the road will be easy or short but I do believe I can help you Logan. I can sense your guilt without even having to read your mind and I want to help you get over that as best I can."

"Only thing that helps with that is a good bottle of whisky" Logan replied leaning back and folding his arms.

"Finish your story Logan, and then we will focus on how best to help you" pleaded Charles getting a scoff from Logan who thought for a moment.

Logan sighed heavily "In 1982, a guy shows up at my door claiming to know who I was and what I could do. He said he was working on a program that basically centered around a team of mutants doing missions off the books. I resisted at first but the more he showed the more I realized that I missed it."

"Missed what?" asked Charles.

"The fighting…despite my best efforts to avoid it. I realized that I missed traveling with Victor and wreaking havoc. So, one day he came again and asked me to join…I told him that I was the best at what I do…" said Logan without finishing his sentence as if lost in his memories.

"What do you do, Logan?" asked Charles.

"What I do isn't very nice. So, I joined him, a man named William Stryker. He was in charge of a program called Weapon X. Turns out that Victor had joined as well, along with a few others. They performed experiments and tried to give us more abilities." Explained Logan as Charles approached him slowly.

"How did they enhance your abilities?" he asked coming to a stop right next to Logan as the two came face to face.

"They offered to make me a better killer, with something called Adamantium…they coated my bones with it. Another guy they spent time trying to unlock more powers with him, it worked but it drove him insane in the process. The program was shut down before anyone else was enhanced" Logan explained as he stretched out realizing they had been talking off and on for almost two hours now.

Before Charles could ask anything, Logan moved on "After that I decided it was time to try and lay low again and get as far away as possible from this sort of thing. Changed my name and bought a cheap truck with a camper on the back and just kept moving. Did a nice job of that until that night in the bar with Jubilee and the mall where I saw Victor and ended up here with you guys."

Charles nodded as he took in the story, that he could tell had been shortened due to a lack of trust from Logan to Xavier. He made a mental note to ask Logan about Weapon X and his work with Shield another time. He was about to speak when he felt Jean reach with her mind "Professor, Jubilee is gone" she said bringing the conversation to an end.


	13. Mutant Control

**Jubilee's Room**

Ororo was looking for clues around Jubilee's room when Logan appeared and started looking around. Ororo watched as he sniffed the air, "She went out the window" he said as he looked out the window and into the setting sun.

"Where would she go?" wondered Ororo.

"Home" answered Jean as she gave the duo a half smile, one of the other students mentioned seeing a news segment about a foster family whose daughter had ran away. "Jubilee mentioned adopted parents and I bet she happened to be watching the news earlier."

Logan nodded "Okay, if she wants to go home, then that's her call." Scott entered as Logan and spoke and nodded in agreement.

"At least she has a home to go back to, most kids around here don't have that option" Scott mentioned as Hank came to a stop outside the door with Charles close behind.

"She may not have a home after all, I've been doing some digging on how Magneto is able to get to these mutants so fast. Turns out that all the mutants that we know of Magneto recruiting the last few months including Jubilee, all have one thing in common. They all have files in the Mutant Control Unit database" explained Hank.

Logan looked around as everyone were putting pieces together "So what? They probably have files on most mutants by now."

"Yes, but they have birthdays and addresses including Jubilee's…the news program was seen by most people, the Mutant Control Unit have her address which means they could go to the house and wait to see if she shows up or worse they arranged for the parents to get on television and this whole thing is an ambush" explained Hank as everyone looked around and locked eyes.

"Okay, get Jubilee's address, we are going to make sure this whole thing is legitimate and not just a trick" ordered Scott as Jean and Ororo left to suit up. "Coming Hank?"

"No, I think a blue fur ball coming through the front door might cause a little bit more ruckus than we would like" answered Hank as Scott nodded and went to get himself ready.

Logan looked around and questioned if he should go or not "Hey Logan" came Jean's voice. He looked back "You should come, Jubilee trusts you." She headed back to her room to finish getting ready. Logan nodded as he grabbed his jacket and waited outside his room for the others.

Scott looked at Jean after she spoke to Logan "If Mutant Control is involved we might have a bigger problem" he said as she nodded along. "If they are doing something like this to a kid imagine what they do the full-grown mutants out there."

Jean grabbed Scott's hands, he always felt responsible for all the mutants out there whether he knew them or not. "All we can do is help Jubilee for now, we'll worry about the rest of the world after that." Scott nodded as he walked out and found Logan waiting for them. They exchanged glances and made their way out to the garage.

Scott didn't care for Logan much but Jubilee seemed to trust him and he did seem to have her best interests in mind. Jubilee might react better to Logan then the rest of them. They went down the stairs to find Storm in a nice night out outfit that would at least make the trip look more normal than the mission to make sure Jubilee was not about to get ambushed by a bunch of trigger happy mercenaries.

Ororo watched the others come down the stairs and began walking to the garage, she had gotten the address from Hank. The drive shouldn't be too long but nobody was even sure when Jubilee had left and how close she was to returning home or if she was even going there for sure. Ororo hoped that Jubilee would stay with them, she had fit right into the school and the other students liked her, but in the end, it would be her choice. They entered the garage and made their way towards the van that should be inconspicuous enough for the neighborhood.

Logan looked around and noted several vehicles, nice cars, a motorcycle and a clearly loved Jeep in the corner in pristine condition that was clearly being constantly cleaned. "That's mine" remarked Scott as he opened the back door of the van and motioned for Logan to jump in.

Logan smirked as he took a seat in the back as Ororo joined him in the back seat while Jean sat shotgun with Scott driving. They were not far from Jubilee's neighborhood and hopefully wouldn't be too late to make sure everything went like it was supposed to. "Hopefully we find her enjoying a nice dinner with her adopted family and we can leave without a ruckus" remarked Ororo looking at Logan who smiled weakly. His prior experience telling him that these things rarely worked out like one hoped.

**Mutant Control Unit HQ**

William Stryker was monitoring his strike team that was undergoing an ambush operation in a New York suburb. "Pierce? Are you in position?" he asked into his radio right before taking a sip of his coffee. The mutants that had gotten into a brawl in the mall in the area had caused him a lot of grief and not to mention the mass breakout at the Box in Boston.

"Yes sir. Everything is in place, we are just waiting for the target" came the voice of Donald Pierce, Stryker's number one agent and captain of the Reaver squad, a squad of the very best that the Mutant Control Unit had to offer. He was big, strong, and determined, three things that Stryker loved to see in his men. He had average length blonde hair and was currently riding in the backseat of a government van waiting for the suspect mutant from the mall to come into the middle of their trap. Pierce would rather be hunting the escapees from the Box but Stryker needed an immediate win and catching a few mutants that tore up a mall made the most sense.

Stryker had come from the old school military days, he was put in command of the Mutant Control Unit when it was founded thanks to his experience with mutants. He was one of the few that had believed in mutants existing far before the public believed. He had been in charge of the first program that regarded mutants, Weapon X had been Stryker's baby and it had taken every favor he had to get the program up and running back in the 80's and keep it running well into the 90's. He believed that humanity could use mutants to do the things that would be impossible for normal humans but unfortunately for him things didn't quite work out that way and the program had been shut down around the time the Soviet Union collapsed.

"Remember, quick and easy. This is a capture and move on operation, the main target is a young girl should respond to Jubilee. There were other accomplices but we aren't sure that they would be with her or not. Make sure all cams are online and ready to go so I can give directive changes on the fly" ordered Stryker as the body cam screens hummed to life in front of him. "Keep this quiet until otherwise directed, now let's get this abomination" he finished getting a small smirk from Pierce.


	14. Neighborhood Watch

**Scott's Van**

They were just a few blocks from Jubilee's address, when Logan lunged forward and told Scott to stop. "What?" asked Scott nearly decking Logan in the face for nearly causing them to go off the road and into somebody's front yard. Logan pointed to a black sedan parked on the street near Jubilee's street. "So?" Scott asked looking back to see Logan move to get out of the car.

"That's a government car and based on the guy in the suit with the military haircut I'm betting he's a lookout" he said as he opened the side door to the van and got out with Ororo close behind him. He closed the door and went to the driver side window. "Go to Jubilee's place and park close but not too close, might need to make a quick getaway."

"What are you going to do?" asked Scott hoping to avoid making a scene with anyone in Mutant Control.

"I can already smell Jubilee, she's close. I'll track her down and hopefully we can get through this quietly" Logan informed turning to leave when Scott grabbed his forearm and held it to the car door.

"If things go wrong…we don't kill people" Scott said with a serious tone.

Logan wretched his arm free "I'll try my best" he said as he and Ororo started walking in pursuit of Jubilee.

Scott sighed and looked at Jean who was concentrating on trying to locate Jubilee using her powers. He drove as normally as possible and tried not to stare at the man Logan had pointed out as he clearly spoke into a radio as they drove past. Scott drove past Jubilee's parents' home and parked as close to the corner as he could but made sure that no cars were behind so if he needed to back up quickly he could do so without any issue.

Donald Pierce loaded up his rifle when the strange van was reported, he thought for a moment "Is there still a vacant house close with sight lines into the target home?" he asked getting an affirmative from his men. He reached for his radio "sir, permission to enter a vacant home and take a over watch position in case multiple targets are involved?" he asked. His men would stay put in the van so they could move in quickly but he would be in position to strike if needed.

"Permission granted" came the old voice of Stryker as Pierce stood and made his way into the back of the vacant home across the street from Jubilee's parents.

Logan looked around as Scott drove away and waved for Ororo to follow him as they made their way through a few back yards as Logan followed the scent of Jubilee. "Why would she go this way?" asked Ororo as Logan scanned the area in front of him.

"Jubilee tends to sneak out of places, this is probably her route to get around without people noticing. She's got street smarts, just a little too naïve" he remarked as Ororo grabbed him by his arm.

"Is it so bad to want to be wanted…we all have to deal with the loneliness of what we are in our own way. Just because Jubilee wants to believe that her adopted parents wanted her to come home does not make her naïve…it makes her human" scolded Ororo who got a looking over from Logan. "Just because Mutant Control is probably here does not mean the family sold her out, perhaps they were coerced or maybe they don't even know they are here."

Logan sighed "Wanting a home to come back to is something people like us don't get to enjoy. I don't care what your little professor believes but regular people will always be scared of people like us and if they aren't scared then all they can think about is how to use us, trust me I know" he said as he peeked over a fence and saw the yellow jacket of Jubilee.

Jubilee had been circling her adopted families house for almost twenty minutes, she wanted to see them, she wanted to tell them that she was fine but something held her back from going and knocking on the door. She heard a stick snap behind her and she turned to find Logan and Ororo behind her. She sighed "Hey guys."

Logan and Ororo came closer "You okay Kid?" he asked with attempt at a nonchalant voice. Ororo actually came forward and pulled her in for a hug which Jubilee had happily returned.

"I hope I didn't worry you guys" Jubilee stated, "I was hoping to come here and say what I needed to say and get back without you guys realizing I was gone."

"Well, it's hard to sneak out a house full of psychics" remarked Ororo getting a half smile and nod from the young Jubilee.

"We need to get moving" remarked Logan as he turned to lead the two ladies around the block where they could signal for Scott to pick them up out of harm's way and get back without incident.

"No, not yet. I need to see them" stated Jubilee backing away from Ororo and turning to face Logan.

Logan shook his head "Mutant Control is already waiting for you to show your face out there and the moment you do they will come for you" informed Logan as Jubilee looked around. "Yeah, we spotted a lookout for them a few streets back and they are definitely here for you."

Jubilee thought for a moment, "What if I get into the house before they can get to me? The house is small and there is no way they would risk regular humans, right?"

Logan shrugged "Too risky" he said as he turned to leave.

"I can't just leave it like this, I can't just leave them to wonder what happened to me…wonder if it was their fault or if I'm even still alive" stated Jubilee almost yelling.

Logan sighed and moved forward to come face to face with Jubilee. He could see the determination in her eyes, the look of if she didn't do this tonight, she would fight and claw her way back here every chance she got. Not to mention she would fight for every inch if he tried to drag her away.

"You'll be with me. If you're with me then no one will get hurt because you're the most dangerous thing here, right?" remarked Jubilee trying everything she could think of to get Logan to let her go to her family.

Logan sighed in defeat "Fine, but if things go bad you do what I say when I say it" he ordered as he motioned Jubilee to lead the way. Jubilee smiled and nodded quickly as she turned to let Logan and Ororo follow her. "You should get to Scott and Jean and let them know what's going on" Logan told Ororo who was already texting on her phone.

"Already texting them, I want to make sure this is as safe as possible and we could use all the help we could get if something goes wrong" she explained as they approached Jubilee's adopted home.


	15. Reunited

**Jubilee's Home**

Jubilee was about to step into the open when Logan grabbed her by the arm, "Wait" he nearly shouted at her as he looked at Ororo. "You can control the weather, right?" he asked having not seen her powers in action yet. Ororo nodded "Can you give us some cover?" Ororo simply smiled.

Donald Pierce was watching the home in question through his scope with his commanding officer William Stryker seeing everything through a camera in the scope. "All clear so far sir" stated Pierce.

"Perhaps we should move on" thought Stryker thinking that he might need to forego an easy win to try and tackle the mass breakout at the Box perpetrated by Magneto when his radio cackled back to life.

"Sir, we have a heavy fog rolling in out of nowhere" informed Pierce. Stryker turned back to the screen and saw that fog was indeed blanketing the area around the house they were watching.

Stryker smiled "Everyone get ready, this is about to get very interesting. Move into position and prepare to move in on signal" he ordered as the van carrying Pierce's men moved into a strike position on the home.

Scott was watching with his side mirror as the fog enveloped around him and Jean, "Guess that's the plan" stated Scott as Jean nodded noticing Jubilee, Logan, and Ororo peeking around the corner of the house before the fog covered them and they were out of sight.

Logan scanned the front yard noting that he couldn't see anything with a few feet and decided that it was safe enough for the three of them to approach the front door. He motioned for Jubilee to lead the way as he followed close behind with Ororo. Jubilee knocked as the light on the front porch was flickering dimly above the trio as they waited. Ororo's eyes were still a pale white as she continued to bring the fog around them to cover their entrance into the home.

The door opened and a middle aged Asian man opened the door and gasped when he saw Jubilee, Logan half thought the man would slam the door and dial the police but instead he nearly dove forward and pulled Jubilee into a huge hug. "You are home" he said with clear joy on his face. A woman soon joined him who quickly pulled Jubilee in for a hug as well. Dr. Lee and his wife had attempted for years to have a child but unfortunately, they had been unable to conceive. The two decided to adopt a few years prior and managed to find a young baby that was put up for adoption, the boy was a six now but when the adoption agency called about Jubilee. Her struggle with finding a home resonated with the couple and the two agreed that they wanted to give Jubilee a chance with them.

"We are so sorry for how we reacted" she said through a few tears as Jubilee smiled and entered with Logan and Ororo quietly following the group of people in. They had reacted poorly when Jubilee's fireworks manifested themselves after the car accident. Mrs. Lee had screamed and Dr. Lee was in a state of shock, that reaction caused Jubilee to run something neither of them wanted. They had called the police soon after hoping they would be able to find Jubilee and bring her home but the two individuals that she had now returned with didn't appear to be law enforcement. Ororo stopped creating the fog and it quickly dissipated.

Pierce scanned the area and saw nothing "Alright team, based on that fog we can assume that we have at least one mutant on site. Prepare to move in once I identify targets" he ordered as his men loaded their weapons and put on their masks.

Scott had seen the van pulling up back the way they had come and assumed that it was the Mutant Control team waiting for confirmation that the others were indeed in the house. "C'mon guys not sure how long you are going to get in there without an interruption" he muttered as Jean reached over and held his hand urging him to remain calm.

Logan, Ororo flanked Jubilee on the couch as her adopted parents took seats in front of them and pestered them with questions which they were happy to answer. A small boy entered the room from upstairs and plopped on the ground next to Logan and started playing with toys, ignoring the world around him. He was Jubilee's adopted brother Shogo, the young age of six and was filled with all the energy a six year old could muster. Logan smiled at the child hoping that Jubilee would say what she needed to say and get them moving before the people here to capture them got tired of waiting.

"Listen, I didn't come here to try and make things the way they were" stated Jubilee which finally got her adopted parents to stop talking for a moment. "I just wanted you to know that I was safe and that you don't need to worry anymore."

The couple looked at each other "But…we don't want you to leave. We overreacted when your powers…"

"Fireworks, I call them fireworks" stated Jubilee proudly bringing a smile to Ororo's face, loving that Jubilee was taking a level of pride in her abilities even if she was still learning how to use them properly. Jubilee leaned forward and took their hands in hers "I don't blame you for reacting the way you did. I just don't belong here, I found a place and people who understand what I'm going through and can help me learn to control my powers." Her parents looked at each other and nodded.

"If you wish to leave, we will not stop you but we have one request…we want you to check in and visit from time to time. You may not have been here very long but we brought you here to be a part of this family and we would still love for you to be a part of it" stated Dr. Lee with a warming smile that Jubilee returned.

"I'm staying at a school right now, these are some of my friends" Jubilee informed motioning to Logan and Ororo. "These two saved me from people who were trying to hurt me and there are others at this school. They are going to teach me everything I need to know about my powers."

Ororo smiled "You are more than welcome to come and look at the school if you wish, we have plenty of students with unique abilities just like Jubilee. We only ask that if you do come, you keep it to yourself, if certain people discovered the location it would place all of us and the students in danger" she said having a good sense about people, a trick Professor Xavier had taught her.

The little boy stood up and walked towards the front window where the curtains had been drawn. Logan was nodding along when he saw the boy pull the curtains open and look out into the night.

Pierce got the opening he was hoping for as he got just a glimmer into the house "I have visual, three targets, two female and one male" he muttered into his radio as Stryker looked on through the cams.

Stryker nearly choked when he saw him "It can't be" he muttered. Stryker thought for a moment while Pierce relayed the situation to his men. "Only one way to know for sure" Stryker pulled up his radio "Pierce, the male subject…I know this man and he is the most dangerous mutant I have ever encountered. This is no longer a capture mission."

Logan saw the curtains open and flinched slightly, they were too exposed now "Hey little man, think you could close those?"

"Pierce, put a bullet through the male targets head…right now" ordered Stryker.

Pierce smirked "Yes, sir." Pierce fired and the bullet broke through the glass window whizzing just past Shogo Lee's tiny head. Right between the heads of his parents and connected right between the eyes of Logan.


	16. House Call

**Jubilee's House**

The couch that Jubilee, Ororo, and Logan had been sitting on flipped over when the bullet hit Logan in the head. The two women flipped over and they looked at Logan who was unresponsive as the Lee's grabbed Shogo and hit the floor staying as low as possible. The Lee's were screaming as Jubilee leaned closer to Logan "You can't be dead" she said as Ororo pulled her to come face to face.

"I need you to focus, Jubilee. We need to worry about your family and then getting ourselves out of here" she said hoping that Scott and Jean were having better luck than she was at this point.

Scott had put his head down when the shot rang out, once he was confident they were not the targets he looked in his mirrors and spotted armed troops heading for the house. "Damn it" he remarked throwing the van in reverse and hitting the accelerator. The soldiers made moves to surround the house as the van came to a stop directly in front of the home and Jean dove out into the front lawn and made her way towards the front door.

"Stop" shouted one of the men as Jean careened into the front door and the soldier opened fire missing the telepathic mutant.

Jean looked around "Storm?" she shouted.

"Here" replied Storm from behind the couch with Jubilee.

"Is everyone okay?" Jean asked as the soldiers were outside barking orders at each other.

"Logan took a shot to the head, he's unresponsive" Storm relayed as she looked from behind the couch and saw the Lee's huddled between the couch and the window but they looked uninjured.

"Okay" answered Jean wondering what they should do next given the house was no doubt surrounded by now. "Scott has the van set up so the sniper has no shot."

Pierce groaned in frustration, he had hit his target but now his over watch position was compromised by the appearance of a van blocking his view. More shots had rung out and now Pierce was in command mode. "Get inside and clear the scene. Anyone gets in the way…take them out" he ordered as he prepped his assault rifle for a more up close and personal approach.

Scott leaned out and spotted a few soldiers making their way towards the front door of the house. He used his visor to fire his red optic blasts at the men sending one flying through a side window and the others heading for cover. Scott then made a break for the house himself. He got inside to find that Jean and Storm and moved everyone into the dining room. "Where's Logan?" he asked noting that the man was not with them. Jubilee pointed and Scott spotted Logan on the floor next to the flipped couch with a hole in his head.

Cyclops grunted in frustration "Okay, going out the front isn't an option but maybe we can disorient them and find a way out of this" explained Scott as he heard the troops approaching the house. Storm used her powers to bring back the fog that had dissipated and the group waited for the right moment to strike.

The dining room that they were sheltered in connected the living room and the kitchen at the back corner of the house. A long hallway led from the kitchen in the back towards the front door with the living room on the right and stairs leading up to the second floor to the left. Scott knew that there was no doubt a back door off the kitchen that the soldiers would use to flank them and they were at the very least going to cover the front if not barge in guns blazing. The soldiers were close to entering the house now, Cyclops could hear them stepping in through the broken glass of the window that had burst out after the gun shot that had taken down Logan.

The soldiers entered slowly through both doors, Pierce was going to be there in a few moments, they just need to neutralize the threats and get the hell out of dodge. The first soldier came into the living room and saw the male target that had been shot by Pierce. He kicked the body to make sure he was down for the count.

Shots to the head were always the most annoying thing to deal with for Logan, it was always painful and it always took some time to heal. As his senses returned to him he felt someone kick him, Logan took a quick sniff and could make out that everyone he needed to try help was in the back corner of the dining room behind him and he had two bad guys next to him and then two more coming in the back. He needed to react quickly if this was going to end like he wanted it to.

Logan's eyes shot open as he popped his claws and slashed at the feet of the first soldier separating him from his body just below the knee. A few shots were fired as he fell and Logan charged the second man close to him, shoving him against a wall. The soldier put a hole in the dry wall, Logan raised his claw to kill the man when Cyclops yelled from the dining room "Don't kill them."

Logan scoffed and delivered a headbutt to the soldier instead knocking him unconscious, the soldiers coming in the back were turning into the dining room when Logan positioned himself in the hall and distracted them. Storm formed a small man-sized tornado sending one soldier into the refrigerator while Jean pushed the other with her mind into a bunch of cabinets knocking them out as well. "Everybody out" ordered Logan as the Lee's followed Cyclops and Jean out with Storm close behind.

Pierce had heard the commotion as he came to the front step, he could hear Stryker yelling about something but Pierce was far too focused on eliminating the target.

Logan entered the kitchen as Jubilee and Shogo made their way out of the dining room, Pierce burst in and opened fire causing Jubilee to fall back and Shogo to fall into the open kitchen as Logan fell into cover in the kitchen. Pierce reloaded and took aim at the only thing he could see moving. "No" shouted Logan as he jumped out and put his back to Pierce and covered Shogo as Pierce unloaded a clip into Logan's body.

Pierce stopped firing when the clip emptied and saw the back of the man he was positive he had just put a bullet through his skull. Logan stood up as Shogo ran out the back door and the bullets that Pierce had fired fell harmlessly to the ground and the holes they had made suddenly healed. Logan turned around and looked at the man who had nearly killed Shogo. Pierce looked to reload again but was quickly overtaken by a charging Logan who suddenly resembled an animal more than a man.

Logan tackled Pierce into the wall next to the front door and popped his claws intending to make the man pay for nearly killing Shogo, but Pierce recovered quickly pushing back with his own ferocity and pushing Logan into a sliding door with glass in it. The glass fell between the two as Pierce landed several punches on Logan who tried his best to shrug off the blows. Logan slashed with his claws but Pierce avoided them and kicked Logan into the wooden railing of the stairs.

Cyclops returned and spotted the two fighting and was about to intervene when he saw the soldier Storm had taken down with the tornado start to stir. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the refrigerator and pulled it down pinning the soldier to the ground.

Pierce got some separation and managed to grab his rifle and raise it up to open fire when Logan slashed with his claws, slicing the weapon to pieces and catching Pierce off guard. Logan then delivered an elbow to the side of Pierce's head causing Pierce to drop to his knees defeated as the adamantium covered bones of Logan finally done some damage.

Pierce was bleeding from the head and was very dazed when he looked up and saw the claws of Logan about to find their way into his chest. "Logan, no!" shouted Cyclops "We need to get out of here and we don't need to kill them to do that."

Pierce looked at Logan and could see the man weighing his options, he then looked back and saw the girl that they had laid the ambush for standing just in front of Cyclops. He looked back at Logan who had nodded and had let Pierce go and was about to walk away, giving Pierce the opening he had been waiting for. Pierce pulled his side arm and aimed at Jubilee.

Cyclops couldn't believe how fast Logan moved, Pierce had raised his pistol and had barely aimed before Logan's claws popped and slashed through Pierce's arm. The pistol didn't fire and Pierce let out a howling cry as his arm from the just above the elbow down fell in front of him. Pierce used his other hand to grab his now missing limb and he fell to the ground.

Cyclops looked at Logan as he stood above Pierce and then turned his attention back to Jubilee and reality. "We have to go right now, no doubt police have been called" Logan nodded in agreement as he followed Cyclops and Jubilee out the back door, leaving quite a bit of destruction in their wake.


	17. Always a Speech

**Jubilee's House**

It had taken Stryker a few hours to get to the scene and when he arrived he found Pierce and his men being loaded into ambulances and the Lee's were being interviewed by Police. Stryker knew that the statements would certainly paint the Mutant Control team in a very bad light, with the not overly strong standing of Mutant Control already had would now grow shakier. Stryker had been around long enough to know when the wind was blowing a certain direction.

He saw Pierce being loaded up into an ambulance and spoke to him "Was it the male target that did this?" he asked despite knowing the answer.

Pierce nodded "Who is he?" he asked as the ambulance closed and drove away.

Stryker looked around at the destruction caused before answering his phone "It's Stryker… this is about to all blow up. It's time to move Trask and all of his work off site and off the books…Yes, the Sentinel Program is still our number one priority."

**Nicaragua**

Magneto looked over his now fully trained mutants or as trained as he needed them to be, Mystique, Sabretooth, Toad, Blob, and Deadpool stood around him as he raised his hand into the air to get the attention of his new army. "Listen to me Brothers and Sisters, we are on the brink…Mankind has pushed us away, experimented on us, wished us harm. Some claim to be our friends, to want what is best for us… but I must ask you this…Are they here ready to fight for you?" The crowd erupted as Magneto spoke bringing a smile to Mystique's face. "Today is the day where we begin to take our rightful place… no more cowering, no more hiding from the spotlight. Today we stand proud as Mutants, today we free our Brothers and Sisters in chains and we make those who have taken them pay for their crimes." Sabretooth was always amazed by Magneto's way with words, he could get anyone to run through a wall if given enough time. "NO MORE…no more waiting our turn, no more staying quiet, no more following those who are less than us…Now to your positions, we will arrive at our destination by tomorrow and when we do, they will rue the day they dared to think themselves better."

The crowd of mutants erupted in cheers and made their way to the cargo planes that would take them to their destination. Magneto turned back to find Mystique leading him and the others towards a smaller plane. "I expect the defenses to fall quickly, once we are on the ground we can start freeing prisoners and moving towards the tower where the so-called President resides" explained Mystique as they walked up the ramp of the plane and everyone took positions.

Deadpool strapped in and looked around "So what's the inflight movie?"

"It's called shut the hell up Wade" replied Sabretooth as he set himself up across from the Merc with the Mouth.

"Now that's just rude" remarked Deadpool as Toad and Blob sat in the two seats next to him.

"Enough" ordered Magneto bringing the back of the plane to a quiet. "Just stay focused on the plan and worry about the rest later. Deposing governments is never easy and rarely quick, but I anticipate we should be quite successful."

**Cyclop's Van**

They had barely made it down the street before the police arrived, Scott managed to calm himself after that silently thanking the heavens that there were no bullet holes in the van. "Is everyone okay?" he asked getting more or less assurances from everyone that they were unharmed. "Good, that could have gone a lot worse."

"I can't believe that they just opened fire like that" remarked Jubilee as she thought back to her little brother being nearly killed by Pierce. Logan patted her on the back to reassure her as the van made progress towards home.

"It does seem odd that Mutant Control would just open fire like that, even if we are mutants. Nothing in the home could have even be misconstrued as violent" stated Ororo noting that they were going to have to be more careful than ever when Mutant Control could be involved.

"They are in desperate need of win, the breakout at the Box a few weeks back has really put them in a tight spot. Most people already disliked Mutant Control, the breakout would amplify these feelings. Luckily, the incident tonight should force the government to act on Mutant Control more forcibly" explained Jean hoping to keep spirits up after a tight scrap.

The van went through the gates of the school and made its way through the grounds with Jubilee looking out the window trying to avoid looking at Logan. She had seen his healing factor work before but never to the extent of a bullet falling out of his head. He kept closing his eyes like he was trying to force a headache away, which after getting shot in the head seemed reasonable to Jubilee.

The garage opened with Hank waiting for them, the van parked, and he checked on everyone for any injuries as they made their way inside. Scott put his hand on Logan's chest before he could head in, "We need to talk" he said as he led Logan deeper into the garage. "If I hadn't been there…would you have killed them?"

Logan sighed as the inevitable question arose "So is this our when is killing allowed talk?" Logan asked as he leaned against a car and put his hands in his pockets.

"Killing them is not the answer" stated Scott matter of factly.

"It can be, sometimes your better off putting them down once and for all instead of dealing with them over and over again. They opened fire on a house with civilians in it…not only that, the head guy at the end would have killed that little boy if I hadn't stepped in. Guys like him, don't just go away. When your in a war, you put the enemy down plain and simple" explained Logan.

"We are not in a war" replied Scott.

"Aren't we? The way the bullets were flying tonight, it sure as hell felt like one. Mutant Control…people like them want to see Mutants exterminated or used, trust me I know, spent plenty of time with people like that" Logan stated as he turned away from Scott hoping to get the massive headache under control.

Scott sighed "I know that you have had very bad experiences with people. I'm sorry about that but that doesn't mean you just walk around killing or dismembering people when you feel like it." Logan shook his head in annoyance, "Seriously, when we are out there fighting…we don't only represent the X-Men, we represent mutants everywhere. People fear us because of perception. People hear about mutant crimes and they see destruction and bloodshed and that is all that matters. You see a group of gun-ho soldiers putting innocent lives in danger, but other people see is a barbaric attack by mutants on people simply trying to maintain the peace. That is the war we are fighting…not against people who hurt us, its against perception" explained Scott turning to walk into the house and fill the Professor in before heading to bed for some much-needed rest.

Logan clicked his teeth and sighed as Scott disappeared and he was left alone in the garage. He couldn't change who he was and how he felt but that didn't make Scott wrong, Logan rubbed the back of his neck "I'll try to be better" he muttered to himself and he started heading to his own room.


	18. Dinner Time

**X-Mansion**

Logan found the dining room and discovered that the others had already arrived, he had been invited that afternoon by Ororo. It had barely been a day since they had protected from Mutant Control. He had checked on Jubilee and decided that joining the team for dinner wouldn't hurt anything even with the conversation that he had with Scott. Scott and Jean were seated on one side of the table, Charles sat on the other side as Hank brought dinner out from the kitchen, Logan ended up next to Ororo as Hank sat across from them. The dinner started off quietly and through the conversation they came around to start talking about Jean's abilities.

"So, wait…you have the ability to enter our minds and talk to us?" asked Logan as Jean looked at Scott with a small smile.

"To a degree, I'm not the Professor by any means but I can enter minds to a certain level and communicate. I've been working on creating a link between the entire team, so that way we can communicate quickly and clearly, and they can't be intercepted by anybody else. It's not ready by any stretch but if I figure it out, it will change how we work together" Jean explained as Logan nodded along.

"Okay, I have a question" stated Ororo as everyone turned to her. She looked at Logan, "So you heal right?" Logan nodded. "You got shot in the head at Jubilee's house and got up and walked away like nothing happened, that has to be the worst possible thing that could have happened to you right?"

Logan chuckled, "Pretty close, also not the first time it happened" he answered. "The worst thing was when they bonded the Adamantium to my bones, that was about as bad as it gets."

The room grew quiet as they all considered what had been said and Logan decided to try and lighten the mood "I did discover that Adamantium is actually a conductor of electricity…I was popped my claws and happened to touch an electrical wire. The electricity went through my skeleton and shot out my other claws and ended up causing a black out for the town I was in at the time."

The group laughed as they enjoyed their meal, "So what's the story with Magneto?" Logan asked after they calmed down.

Charles sighed "We've been fighting for a long time now…he used to live here. We were working together to build this school. Something happened and he left…he formed the Brotherhood and has been working to find the perfect paradise for mutants ever since."

"He's a mad man" stated Scott, as he started finishing his meal.

Charles sighed "Erik is a survivor of the Holocaust…he lost everyone he cared about, his powers awakened during that time and the Nazi's experimented on him until he was rescued…by Captain America", Charles laughed. "Amazing…rescued by Captain America as a child, sent to America to find a better life and ends up becoming a terrorist." The laughing stopped as Charles thought for a moment. "Erik is a good chess player; his biggest weakness is failing to see the entire board. He only sees the dark, and the dirty…he sees the monsters waiting to ambush mutants in the night…he sees fearful people reacting in fearful ways. All he wants to do is protect his people, by any means necessary."

Charles wiped his mouth "Thank you for dinner Hank, it was wonderful" Charles backed up and started heading out of the dining room, "Good night everyone."

The others continued to eat "Jubilee is adjusting well even after everything that happened" stated Jean towards Logan.

Logan nodded "Kid's resilient" replied Logan as he finished his dinner.

"She's made some pretty good friends already so I'm pretty sure she will be fine not to mention her work in class has been strong since she arrived" explained Hank with a proud smile.

"Good" answered Logan as everyone finished their meal. Logan stood up "Thanks for keeping an eye on her…once I figure out where I'm headed, I'll be out of your hair" he said as he turned and left the dining room.

Logan went through the halls and overheard Jubilee with a bunch of other kids laughing around a pizza. He smiled and then continued on his way.

Jubilee laughed loudly as Bobby Drake continued trying to balance a bread stick on his nose. A large Russian mutant named Peter Rasputin was leaning against a wall downing as many pieces of pizza that he could "I love pizza" he shouted as he chewed through the food with his thick Russian accent. Hailing from Russia, Peter was one of several non-American students at Xavier's school. His mutant ability made him a shoe in for X-Men duty once he was determined to be ready, his body would cover itself in a metal skin that he could control and make him near impregnable.

Armando sat next to Jubilee "You doing okay?" he asked as Bobby sat down across from the two of them.

"I'm good, luckily everyone got there and other than Logan nobody was hurt" explained Jubilee. "It was really intense" she continued as Armando nodded along.

"You never know how your going to react to situations like that. I've never enjoyed the idea of being in a life or death situation like that" responded Armando as he took a sip of soda.

Jubilee looked at him closely, "No X-Men duty for you?" she asked knowing that most students dreamed of following Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm into a fight with the fate of the world on the line.

Armando laughed "No, not for me. In a perfect world I leave here and go to medical school and hopefully save lives the old-fashioned way" explained Armando.

"Doctor huh?" replied Jubilee enjoying that the conversation was not about what had happened at her adopted family's home.

Armando chuckled "My body adapts to any situation meaning I'll never really get sick, for all I know my body holds the key to vaccines and medical treatments that some college kid is dreaming about right now. I'm not going to save the world by fighting in super suits, no I'm going to save the world by making sick people better."

Jubilee smiled "Good for you Armando, but haven't you ever wondered what its like down in the basement?"

Bobby leaned in on the duo's conversation, "I have always wondered" he remarked as the three of them looked at each other.

"Got an idea?" asked Armando which prompted a smile from Jubilee.


	19. The Pits

**Hammer Bay, Genosha**

David Moreau sat in his office at the top of his skyscraper that doubled as the main political building in the country of Genosha. He was tall with white skin and brown hair, he was often seen wearing perfectly tailored suits that showcased his position within Genosha. Moreau was the allegedly democratic leader of the island nation, fostering a future for both man and mutant kind, or at least that's what the brochure had read. Located in the capitol city of Hammer Bay, Moreau and his supporters had seized control years earlier and had led false elections ever since if only to keep the West off of their backs. Genosha was located off the coast of Madagascar and featured an excellent standard of living and one of the better economies in the world, but it was cultivated by the enslavement of mutants. Mutants were the second-class citizens on the island and were used as the labor that built cities and infrastructure.

Only local mutants were used until the needs of the booming nation required more which led Moreau to institute a very misleading claim that Mutants could come to Genosha and have no fear of persecution or ridicule when in truth the moment the Mutants were out of sight, they were taken into custody and fitted with a collar which doused their powers. The technology had been developed by Moreau and what was responsible for him pulling the Presidency from his predecessor. "Sir, we have another request from Shield to have a meeting as well as a response from the Wakandan's about trade routes" came the voice of his lovely assistant, Sabrina.

"What did the Wakandan's have to say?" he asked hoping that the months of pestering them about the possibility of trade was finally going to pay off.

"They politely declined saying that they need nothing from us" she answered brushing her blonde hair away from her eyes.

Moreau sighed heavily "Send the Shield the same reply we always send." He took a seat, the reply to Shield was always a welcoming one but also one that pushed the possible meeting back, Shield sniffing around would be bad for business, it would take months to prepare everything to look just how it needed to for a meeting with Shield. "Are there any more planes coming in tonight?" he asked spotting the lights from the airstrip outside the city in the night.

"I believe some materials are coming in" explained his assistant as she continued to fill him in on his schedule for the next day.

**Hammer Bay Airport**

The cargo planes landed on the strip with little to no issue as the workers moved into position to get everything unloaded and to get home for the night. The ramps lowered, and the workers were surprised when they only things on the plane were people. Bullets rained out of the plane killing the workers and clearing a path off the plane. Magneto walked out and scanned the area noting that the other two planes with his army aboard had also taken care of their workers.

Deadpool had opened fire before anyone else had moved as Sabretooth led Mystique, Toad, Blob, Avalanche, Whirlwind, and Deadpool behind Magneto. "Remember the plan, we hit the pits first and then move into the city" Magneto ordered as several Genoshan military vehicles approached, Magneto smirked as he used his powers to flip the vehicles into the air and watching them smash into the ground below.

Sabretooth took over from there charging and killing the men as they attempted to recover from the assault. He stood above the dead soldiers and pointed in the direction of the pits where the mutant slaves were being held.

The group headed off led by Sabretooth and Deadpool with Magneto and Mystique hanging back as the others ran past them. Magneto looked at Mystique "You know what to do" he said causing Mystique to grin before she got into a car and made her way towards Hammer Bay, the capitol city of Genosha.

**The Pits**

Remy had heard the shouting, but he just assumed it was some kind of argument amongst the guards, but he was definitely caught off guard when one of the guards fell into the large work pit. Remy looked at the body and saw that his bones were clearly shattered. He looked up when more screaming echoed out guards started opening fire into the woods that surrounded the pits as other mutant slaves started shouting out for help. Another guard was sent flying by some kind of energy burst as Remy took cover before heading to the dead guard looking for the key to his collar as a man came out of the woods and started shouting to other people that followed him out of the woods.

Avalanche scanned the pits keeping an eye out for any armed guards that could slow down the advance. He spotted Remy checking the dead guards for the keys to the collars that Mystique had mentioned during the preparation. He fired another blast of seismic energy taking out another guard.

Remy found the controller and hit the emergency release as the collars started popping all over the pits and mutant slaves were freed from their bonds. Remy smiled as he picked up a metal pipe and felt his kinetic energy flow through his hands for the first time in what felt like forever. Soldiers began to funnel from the outskirts of the pits to fight against the invaders. He looked up to see the other mutant slaves starting to fight back against the soldiers who were quickly outnumbered. They began to retreat when Remy spotted someone he recognized, Sabretooth.

Sabretooth tackled a retreating guard and sliced him open, killing him as Remy picked up a stone and filled it with Kinetic energy before launching it and drilling Sabretooth in the side and sending the feral mutant into a nearby tree.

Remy got out of the pit and stood his ground with his pipe and watched Sabretooth snarl as he stood up. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Gambit" remarked Sabretooth as prepared for the fight.

"As much as I appreciate the rescue, I cannot sit back and watch you wreak havoc" announced Gambit as Sabretooth charged. Gambit spun his pipe and delivered several strikes with it against Sabretooth who shrugged most of damage and continued to slash at Gambit who expertly avoided the attack.

Deadpool had just finished putting some bullets in a few guards when he spotted the battle between Sabretooth and Gambit. "Sweet, one on one battle in the middle of a bigger fight, so cinematic" he shouted as he skipped his way towards the two and simply watched them trade blows.

Sabretooth landed a clean slash along Gambit's chest, but Gambit reacted quickly sending kinetic energy surging through the pipe and landing a clean blow to Sabretooth's head driving the attacking mutant back. Gambit looked at his wound and could clearly tell he was bleeding badly and would definitely need some stitching up. He moved to continue the fight when some metal fencing appeared and wrapped around him and trapped him.

"Well, I cannot seem to avoid the X-Men no matter where I go" remarked Magneto as he stepped next to the now trapped Gambit.

"What are you up to Magneto?" asked Gambit as he worked to try and free himself from the fence trap.

"I am freeing the oppressed, including yourself. However, given your violent reaction I'm afraid your going to have to be restrained and watched until we can figure out what to do with you" Magneto turned away from Gambit and looked at Toad and Blob as they approached. "Take the survivors to one of the warehouses and keep them there until I decide what to do with them and take our ungrateful friend here with them" he ordered as he led Sabretooth and Deadpool in the direction of the Hammer Bay.


	20. Battle of Hammer Bay

**Hammer Bay, Genosha**

What little warning the city of Hammer Bay had of Magneto's attack gave them a few precious moments to prepare themselves and unfortunately for them, it was not near enough. The Police force were caught completely off guard and were trying to rally as Magneto's mutants poured into the city from the airstrip and the pits. Avalanche walked his way through the streets noting the swarm of civilians fleeing in terror as Police cars approached, he smirked as he unleashed his Earth-shaking ability and forced the cars to flip onto their sides while mutant underlings ran past him and started making their way into the building to get the civilians under control.

Whirlwind spun his way down one of the main streets of Hammer Bay towards the objective building where David Moreau was living. People were getting caught in the wind being tossed up by his progress and he snickered as they spun around him, with a few tumbling to the Earth and with a satisfying splat. The Genoshan Police Force was actively attempting to slow the advance of the Magneto's mutants, but their efforts were coming up quite short. For every mutant they managed to subdue or kill someone with far more sinister abilities would strike them from somewhere else.

Magneto watched from the outskirts of town as his army pushed forward toward the Genoshan Capitol Building where the President both worked and lived. He saw Avalanche and Whirlwind making progress and the other lesser mutants pushing behind. Sabretooth and Deadpool came up and stood next to Magneto on both sides and awaited orders.

Deadpool was about to sprint down when Magneto put his hand up to stop him, "Not yet" he ordered causing Deadpool to quietly sigh in annoyance as he was hoping to get his katana's bloody.

Sabretooth knew the drill despite his need and desire to take as many humans as he could but this plan had been in the works for years and Sabretooth intended to make sure it went as smoothly as possible. He looked at Magneto who seemed to be waiting for something.

Moreau looked down as Hammer Bay was under assault, he could see fire and based on the reports they were getting from Police on the ground, the mutants were out of their collars and fighting back. He nervously paced along the window as he waited for his military to respond to the attack. "Sabrina, call out and arrange for a Helicopter to come get me the hell out of here" he nearly shouted getting a meek response from the girl.

Magneto had spent the last three years planning the invasion, instead of finding mutants one at a time, he waited for the humans to gather them for him. He could have attacked the Box whenever he wanted but he waited for it to be just full enough to supply him with an army. He had learned of mutant slaves nearly five years ago and had at least toyed with the idea until it finally crystalized in his mind. They were approaching the final stage of the attack, he just needed the Genoshan military to show up guns blazing.

As if on cue, a Genoshan tank came rolling from the opposite side of town and opened fire at a few mutants that were getting close to the building. Magneto smiled as he then waved Deadpool and Sabretooth into action and descended into the battle himself. Sabretooth wasted no time making his way to the front line where Genoshan soldiers were starting to turn the tide. He launched himself at a few soldiers who were standing near a military jeep.

Deadpool opened fire with his pistols hitting pretty much everyone he aimed at and the ones who he didn't hit returned fire turning Deadpool into a walking red and black bullet sponge. He slowly approached as the soldiers emptied their weapons into his body "Sorry guy's, pretty much immune to bullet damage" he remarked as his body healed and he drew his katana's and ended the two soldiers.

Magneto walked the streets with the tank at the end of it, "Genosha!" he yelled "You have taken whatever you wanted from those who are less fortunate then you, but I fear you have underestimated those who are greater than you. Homo-Superior has come for its revenge and none of you will escape our wrath."

The tank turned its main gun towards Magneto and fired, he used his ability to bend metal and force the round to curve around him and hit a vehicle to the side in a fiery explosion. The tank opened fire several more times only to see the rounds curve and miss their intended target repeatedly. When Magneto was close enough he reached out with his ability and bent the main gun backwards towards the hatch where one would enter the vehicle.

The soldiers inside the tank looked at each other wondering what to do next when suddenly the pins pulled out of their grenades strapped to their chests, the explosion enveloped the interior of the tank with shrapnel as Magneto sauntered past with Sabretooth and Deadpool joining him with contingents of the Mutant Army. Most of the army had now joined at Magneto's side as they arrived at the Genoshan Capitol Building, Magneto looked up and smirked.

David Moreau was in a panic as both his Police Force and Military were clearly in shambles and his helicopter had still not arrived to ferry him to safety. Sabrina entered the room and Moreau turned with his briefcase in hand and moved to leave. "Finally, that helicopter had better be fueled up and ready to go" he said as he approached Sabrina. He was just within distance to smell her perfume when out of nowhere she delivered a swift kick to his sternum driving him back into his desk. "What the hell?" he shouted as his lovely assistant smiled and suddenly changed before his eyes into a blue woman with scales.

Moreau was in shock, which was always Mystique's favorite part of her ability "Who are you?" he asked as Mystique smirked at him. "Where is Sabrina?" Mystique broke out into a full smile as she lightly and adeptly stepped to the side allowing the Genoshan President to see his assistant dead in front of her desk.

Mystique could see the wheels turning in Moreau's mind, trying to decipher his options, trying to decide if he was going to make a break for the door or try to negotiate his way out of the situation. Unfortunately for Moreau, Mystique made the decision for him as she charged and delivered a few punched and kicks that sent him rolling over his desk and tumbling to the floor unconscious.


	21. Just Beginning

**Hammer Bay, Genosha**

Moreau was barely aware of the situation as he began to regain consciousness, Mystique had knocked the man for a loop and he wasn't entirely sure how long he had been out for. He was tied up for sure, he could feel the metal binds around his body keeping him confined to a chair with wheels that he used behind his desk. He opened his eyes to find Hammer Bay below him, a sight that he usually adored but now was in shock considering a large portion of the city was now a war zone.

He was drinking in the view when he felt his metal bonds move slightly as the chair spun and he came face to face with Magneto. Magneto had watched many videos of the man's speeches, the supposed good man who was simply attempting to do a good deed by offering mutant kind a place to call home, but Magneto had seen evil and lots of it as a child.

"I must say Mr. President, I find the welcoming committee to be very lacking in hospitality" remarked Magneto as Moreau scanned the room spotting Mystique and Sabretooth standing a short distance from Magneto. Deadpool had chosen to go hunting for dinner instead of watching Magneto discuss things with the President he was deposing, claiming he had seen a store on the way into the city that would certainly have Chimichangas in it. "Don't bother hoping to be saved, Mystique used your assistants cell phone to call off the attack dogs and give the all clear, so nobody is coming to save you."

Moreau coughed as he hoped to stall enough to come up with a plan. Magneto stood up and walked over to Moreau and began to walk around his chair like a predator sizing up some prey, "So, you are the man who has been spending all of his time and effort in convincing Mutants that coming to his little island is the best thing for them, feeding lies, creating a situation to take advantage of those who are being persecuted and mistreated." Moreau said nothing in response. Magneto leaned against Moreau's desk and scanned the man carefully noting how the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. "So, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Moreau lost his presidential looks "You freaks have no idea what you have done, you think the world will stand for this. You think they won't come for you, hunt you down like the monsters you are."

"Who's they?" asked Magneto, noting that Moreau suddenly seemed like he had made a mistake. Moreau looked away into the distance avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room and pretended like he hadn't heard the question and wasn't involved in the conversation. Magneto laughed, "All that bravado and then you run and hide like the coward you are."

"There are people in this world who will burn you at the stake, like the witches of old. Humanity has a sickness and that sickness has been allowed to spread for far too long. Mutants are the devils work and we as the righteous people must burn them away to protect the future" spat Moreau twisting in his chair. He was about to continue speaking when he was quickly interrupted by the metal wire that was binding him snaked its way around his neck.

Magneto manipulated the metal in his hand with such ease, when he watched the wire move on his command he was reminded of his time as a child but shook the thoughts away. "Who are these people?"

Moreau choked "People with more money, resources and a stronger will than you. They made sure I won the election here in Genosha and developed the collars that suppresses mutant abilities. They arranged for the mutants to be taken into slavery and studied those who could provide them with the answers on how to crush the mutant scum once and for all. You think that you have won but in truth you have done nothing but draw the kind of attention that gets you killed."

Magneto tightened the wires around Moreau, "You think I fear them? You think I fear their attention? I welcome it, when they come for me…I will meet them and destroy them for everything they intend to do my people. I don't care how many and how powerful you believe they are. I will find them, and I will make them pay no matter what it costs." Magneto stood and used his magnetic powers to slowly push Moreau towards the window that overlooked Hammer Bay.

Moreau tried to choke out a plea for his life, but the wires were too tight on his throat as he felt the back of the chair push into the window. His mind flashed back to when he agreed to the position of President of Genosha, he was promised an easy job and a spot in the new world but now as he heard the window begin to crack he realized that this was never what he was promised. Magneto was speaking to him again but all he could focus on was the window behind him and Magneto's hand hovering in front of him. The hand twitched ever so slightly and suddenly he was surrounded by glass and he was falling, as he fell all he could hope for was that they would avenge him in some way, snuff out the life of the mutants that killed him but unfortunately just before he hit the ground he realized he was never important enough to be avenged.

Deadpool was raiding the restaurant for an early breakfast when he heard the splat behind him, he turned and saw the mangled body of Moreau, "Well, guess he won't be here for the sequel" he remarked before returning to his meal.

Magneto watched Moreau's body bounce off the pavement below, his personal theories now proved to be true. He had long believed that there was a group out there plotting against mutants and planning their destruction. Now, knowing they had turned Genosha into a staging ground made him feel even more right in his plan to make his stand in the island nation. Magneto turned to face Mystique and Sabretooth "Spread out across the country, I want it under control within the next 48 hours, after that we will make our statement to the whole world" he ordered as Sabretooth smiled turning towards the door and making his way to start taking over piece by piece.

Mystique approached Magneto who turned to feel the wind from the now broken window cool his face. "We've done it" she whispered, the two of them had been through it all together, their work with Charles and Hank back in the old days to a coup d'état now. Mystique had long accepted that Magneto would never look at her the way he looked at Charles.

Magneto looked at Mystique "Not yet" he turned and took a seat behind Moreau's desk, "We have only just begun."


	22. Happiest Memory

**X-Mansion**

Logan walked through the halls of Xavier's school, something of a common occurrence in the past week or so. He had intended to be long gone by now, but something kept him from leaving, he passed the gym and spotted Scott hitting a punching bag something he had come to realize was a daily routine for the X-Men's leader. The two exchanged a quick glance with some hostility sprinkled in, not hate necessarily but a wariness that the two didn't trust each other to make the right decision when it needed to be made.

Jean was sitting the common room with some students when she noticed Logan taking his almost daily walk through the school, she stood quickly and matched his pace. "Good morning" she stated cheerfully noticing the smile that Logan had given her when she spoke.

Logan simply nodded when Jean spoke he was beginning to realize that the red head was a part of his reasoning for not leaving. "What's making you so chipper this morning?" he asked noting that she was in an even better mood than usual.

"They just announced that Mutant Control has been suspended pending a full review, they are finished, all because of what happened at Jubilee's house" she explained with a big smile that caused Logan to return with one of his own. "So, planning to stick around?" she asked innocently.

Logan shrugged "Until I figure out where I'm headed next, I get to stay here."

Jean nodded "Good, I think we've done you some good after all, even if you and Scott can't seem to get along."

Charles came around the corner in front of the two, "Logan, would you please join me in my office? I would like to finish our conversation we started before everything with Jubilee" he asked.

Logan sighed deeply "Sure why not?" he said as he nodded a goodbye to Jean before following Charles to his office.

They entered, and Logan took a seat and Charles parked himself in front of him, "Logan, I believe that I can help you" Charles stated as he had done so many times over the past few weeks whenever the two of them were in a position to speak which had been very little given Charles seemingly never-ending search for Magneto.

"I don't need help" replied Logan who pondered if Charles had kept his promise to stay out of his mind.

"I don't need psychic powers to see a guilty man when I see one. You carry a great burden Logan, I only wish to help you lessen it" Charles could see Logan's narrow his eyes in annoyance.

"Talking about it won't change things, won't change the lives of people I've hurt, sure as hell won't bring back the dead" answered Logan causing a nod from Charles.

"I want to try something with you if that's okay?" Logan nodded his acceptance allowing Charles to continue "I want you to try and focus on the happiest time of your life, no matter how long or short it was." Logan sighed and shook his head "Please just close your eyes and try" implored Charles as Logan closed his eyes and Charles placed his hand on Logan's temple.

Charles was sifting through Logan's memories trying his best to avoid anything other the time that he had told Logan to focus on, however it was difficult, there flashes of blood, pain, and violence but the trip down memory lane focused on a serene estate with cherry blossoms, the architecture was clearly Japanese and it was bright with the midday sun beaming down into a courtyard, there was a women sitting next to the fountain situated in the middle of a the courtyard. They were approaching when Logan thrashed back breaking the connection that Charles had. "No!" he shouted standing up ready to walk out of the room.

Charles put his hands up hoping to calm the rage that Logan was feeling from going back to that time with Charles in tow. "Calm down" he muttered as he could hear the heavy breathing from Logan "I want to help you Logan, I want you to trust me. I know that whatever this memory is…is very personal." Charles could see that Logan wasn't handling the exercise very well and made a difficult decision. "What if I show you my happiest moment? Something I've never shared with anyone."

Logan stopped pacing and looked at Charles closely, Charles motioned for him to come close which Logan did despite his every instinct telling him this was a bad idea. He kneeled in front of Xavier who once again placed his hand on Logan's temple. Logan closed his eyes and found himself in the office he was already sitting in…but something was different. He was looking through Charles eyes, he spotted a man sitting across from him with a chess board sitting between the man and himself. Jokes were in the air and smiles beamed all over the room, Logan could feel it even as a passenger.

Words were beginning to come into focus "Oh Erik, you really need to get better jokes" laughed Charles getting a head shake from Erik.

"Well, if you stopped reading my mind every time I start telling one you would find them funnier" responded Erik. The memory fast forwarded from there with the game now over and Erik being the victor, the two were sharing a quick drink before bed.

"Hank is convinced our little X-Men idea could actually work" remarked Charles.

Erik nodded "With you and Raven getting everything together, there is no way it could fail."

"You're just as important you know, you are just as much a part of this equation as any of us" explained Charles getting a smile from Erik who finished his drink and turned to leave.

"See you in the morning" Erik said as he opened the door. "We have an early start if we are going to see that girl before the authorities move her somewhere we won't be able to find her."

"We'll get her" answered Charles wanting so desperately to say more but finding himself unable to do so. "Good night Erik" he finished getting a smile from Erik who closed the door behind him and the memory dematerialized, and Logan was back in Xavier's office.

Logan could see the tear in Charles eye, he quickly regained his composure and looked at Logan. "You couldn't say it could you?" asked Logan getting a laugh from Xavier.

"No, I couldn't, we both knew the truth, but neither of us could take the leap. Erik and Raven left a week later becoming Magneto and Mystique, while Hank and I built this school and the X-Men." Charles wiped the tears that were forming away and turned his attention back to Logan who seemed to be looking into Charles soul.

Logan nodded "Okay, you can look into my mind again, I'll show you."

Charles placed his hand on Logan's temple and quickly found himself back in the cherry blossom filled courtyard with the young Japanese woman sitting on the side of a fountain watching the blossoms float on the water's surface. She turned, and Charles could see the look of pure happiness on her face with a smile that seemed to make the whole world a better place. The words were flowing between Logan and the woman, but Charles couldn't hear them, the joy Logan was feeling was more powerful than the words being said, and Charles soon realized why, Logan dropped to one knee "Will you marry me?" he said with a hint of fear. The woman said yes vehemently and the two embraced "I love you Mariko" were the last words Charles heard before leaving Logan's mind.

Logan now was the one with a tear forming in his eye "Thank you Logan" remarked Charles who turned toward the window and looked out over the grounds.

Logan stood "Best year of my life" he remarked before turning to leave.

"What happened to her?" asked Charles looking back wondering what had made Logan give up a love like that.

Logan sighed and put his forehead against the door "Bad people came for me…they found her instead…her and the baby" he said before opening the door and leaving Xavier in his office.


	23. A Morning Walk

**X-Mansion**

Hank McCoy was in his lab preparing his chemistry class notes when he saw Ororo move past the door "Ororo" he called out causing the African mutant to turn around to see him. "Would you mind providing me with some company on the way to my class this morning?" he asked walking towards her with his notes in hand.

Ororo smiled a friendly smile "Of course" she said with a nod and the two made their ways through the military base like halls of the X-Men headquarters underneath the school.

"So how is our honored guest doing? Hank asked speaking of Logan who at this point had stayed far longer than pretty much all of them had guessed when he first arrived.

"Good, far as any of us can tell. He's been avoiding the Professor" she remarked as they arrived on the elevator that would take them to the school level of the complex.

"Well, Charles sometimes has that effect on people" laughed Hank as the elevator doors closed. "Despite his gruff exterior the Professor believes that Logan can be a strong asset to the team" stated Hank getting a quick look from Ororo.

"He intends to have Logan join the team?" she asked with only slight shock in her eyes.

Hank nodded "Charles would not be putting this much effort in, if he didn't intend to at least offer a spot to him. Remy and Rogue leaving last year really have dwindled our effectiveness and with Shield taking a larger role in policing super human events, I believe the Professor wants to ensure that we can act when we need to and as effectively as we can."

Ororo laughed, Logan seemed like a good man despite his appearance and attitude but she knew that Scott would fight his joining the X-Men tooth and nail, but in the end the Professor would have the final say. "He did a good job when we were at Jubilee's house" she remarked as the elevator door opened and they were in the hall next to the common area.

The two stepped out and Ororo made eye contact with Jubilee who was sitting by herself watching tv. She waved with a smile and got one back from the young mutant as the she followed Hank around a corner and continued their conversation. "If Charles believes in Logan than I have no reason not to" replied Hank as they neared his classroom. "Besides you seem to like him well enough" he said with a knowing smirk.

Ororo nearly choked "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hank laughed as students started filing into his classroom, "I'm a scientist Ororo, and frankly I know when a woman is looking at a man a certain way because it has been a long time since one looked at me that way."

Ororo sighed not because Hank knew that she was attracted to Logan but because he had put himself down in the process. She put her right hand on his shoulder "Hank any lady would be lucky to have you" she said as she turned to leave knowing that Hank needed to get to his class.

Hank smiled as the young girl he had watched grow up walked away, he sighed, Hank had given up on love at this point in his life. His blue fur had been a side effect of trying to cure himself of his original foot mutation, it worked for a second but suddenly the serum had the opposite effect and his body grew into the more muscular form he had now, and complete with blue fur. He looked into the classroom and saw the students all talking, his mind flashed to Raven for the briefest of moments before he entered and started the lesson for the day.

Ororo came back through the common room and saw that Jubilee had gone "Must be in class" she thought as she took a seat and turned the TV station to the news hoping to enjoy more coverage of Mutant Control being shut down, hoping to see some kind of hint as to what the investigation was uncovering. She heard that Jubilee's family had sued Mutant Control and she was positive that the US Government would at least interview them for the case against the now shut down agency.

Ororo had discovered her abilities on the streets of Cairo where she had been living on the streets with other orphaned children. She had become quite the skilled thief and thought she had found an easy target in the Professor. She had picked his pocket just fine but when she arrived back to her home which was an alleyway just outside the market and found Charles Xavier standing waiting for her. She thought of using her abilities for a moment but a smile from Xavier calmed her immediately, he quickly explained that he had come to Egypt looking for her. He wanted to help her control her powers and he wanted to give her a home.

She considered refusing but the man had such a calming demeanor about him that coming with him seemed like the right thing to do. She met Jean and Scott when she arrived and they quickly became an effective team with Rogue with her mutant ability to steal other powers and Remy LeBeau with his kinetic energy projection they learned to work together and it worked for a long time.

Her mind then started lingering on the state of the X-Men, Hank was right when Remy and Rogue decided to leave the team last year after the Professor told everyone not to try and interfere in the Lizard outbreak in the city. The two of them were always stubborn and always ready to help but when they were told no, they decided to leave, and they hadn't been back or even called since. Ororo hoped they were at least happy, but she also missed the company.

She had been closer with the two of them then she was with anyone else, Scott and Jean had each other worse came to worse. Ororo had only the students to focus on but even that was only going to get her so far, working with Logan and Jubilee at Jubilee's home had been a nice change from having to be the third wheel for Scott and Jean.

Ororo could already tell that Jubilee would be a member of X-Men when she was done with her schooling which would be nice but Logan sticking around with the team would be a bonus as she felt like the two of them were at least on the same page. She watched the news shift into a breaking news screen as the anchors were talking and they cut to the main anchor of the show, Edward Leeds. Leeds was a handsome blonde-haired man with a light complexion "Sorry to interrupt guys but I'm afraid there has been some breaking news out of the island nation of Genosha" he stated with a serious look on his face. Ororo had no idea how much the world was about to change for mutants everywhere.


	24. Out of the Shadows

**X-Mansion**

Scott hit the punching bag for what had probably been the 300th time, he hadn't heard Jean enter the gym, but he had sensed her presence. The two of them had been together so long that they rarely had to open their mouths to talk to each other. He turned and drank in her beauty, he long red hair hanging over her shoulders and bounced as she approached him. She smiled and lit up his entire world as he reached for a towel and wiped his face.

Scott had come to Xavier's institute a few years after Jean, his powers had awakened in the middle of his junior high school cafeteria and he was briskly sent to Charles Xavier. His parents had already passed away long before his abilities appeared so it was an easy thing to be dropped off at the school and forgotten about. His position as leader of X-Men was quickly established and never challenged as Xavier taught him the strategies necessary to lead the team in the field, even Hank who could have easily taken on the role never tried to push Scott aside.

He trusted his team with his life and fully believed in the bright future that Charles Xavier had spent most of his life fighting for. He had trained with Jean, Ororo, Rogue, Remy, and finally Hank who despite his age still went on missions where he was required and now here he was having to come with grips that Charles wanted to bring in a wild card like Logan into the team that Scott had worked so hard to cultivate.

Jean could sense Scott's unease ever since Logan not only arrived, but seemed content to stay put at least for the time being. Jean had come to Xavier's school as a young girl at the age of five and she had been learning to control her abilities ever since. Charles had explained what she was, the next evolution of mutant kind and that kind of power would come with side effects. Her parents had been killed in a car accident during which her powers awakened and Charles along with Magneto had come to bring her to the school. She was the only student who was there when Charles, Magneto, Hank, and Mystique were all still at the school and working together but Magneto and Mystique left almost immediately after her arrival. Her status as an Omega Mutant had given Hank plenty of reasons to keep an eye on her but her recent string of nightmares was becoming and increasing problem. Scott would never blame her when she loses control but hurting him always scared her and the idea that her powers would prevent her from ever truly being off guard around anyone.

"Hello, pretty lady" Scott remarked with a smile before taking a drink from his water, Jean smiled back as she took a seat next to where he was standing.

"How are you doing this morning?" she asked getting a warming smile from the love of her life.

Scott turned back to the punching bag, "Good, just wanted to get some work in this morning before we go out later." He said knowing he had a very important question to ask Jean when they were out that evening.

"Oh yay, I love my men all sweaty and stinky" Jean remarked jokingly as Scott laughed and brought Jean in for a hug and a chaste kiss on the lips. "Seriously though, take a shower before we go out for sake of everyone in the restaurant."

"Oh, you got jokes?" laughed Scott as he picked her up and spun her around. "I love you" he said with a loving smile.

"I love you too" she quickly replied as they shared a deeper kiss.

The door to the gym burst open interrupting the two love birds, they both turned to find Ororo "Magneto" she shouted at them causing them to run with her to the common room. "He's done something terrible" she informed as they entered the common room and found the Professor watching the screen with Hank.

"He's gone too far Charles" stated Hank as took a seat on the couch and put his head in his hands.

"What happened?" asked Scott who turned to the TV screen when Charles pointed.

Edward Leeds was talking as the screen flashed various pictures of destruction taken by cell phones. "These are pictures from the country of Genosha that we have just learned has just had a coup staged by the terrorist mutant group known as the Brotherhood of Mutants. The attack occurred last night and as of this morning it is believed that the group has seized complete control of the island nation."

"How could he have done this?" asked Jean noting that Logan had come down the stairs and was watching the screen about half way up.

"The inmates of the Box, he got them out…why wouldn't they follow him to war" stated Charles as his mind spun the various causes that prevented him from seeing what was happening. A part of himself questioned if he was ever truly looking for Magneto or his henchmen.

"We now have received a video from the leader of the Brotherhood, Magneto" explained Leeds as his face disappeared from the screen and Magneto appeared.

"The country of Genosha has publicly stated that they were in support of mutant-kind. That all were welcome to live in its beautiful landscape in peace with other humans, these were lies. The people of Genosha have spent the better part of the last decade enslaving all mutants that came to its shores" explained Magneto as the camera cut from him to show pictures of various people in chains and wearing collars with clear abuse seen on their bodies. "In the mission of safeguarding the future of all mutants we have taken this cesspool of evil and vow to change it into the mutant haven it was stated to have been. Anyone who comes to stop us will pay the dearest cost…to all the mutants out there…Genosha will be open to you and will always be here to fight for your future and your right to live. Stop hiding in the shadows come here and live in the sun like you deserve."

The video ended, and Edward Leeds reacted to the video, but nobody heard him speak as they all weighed Magneto's words. "We have to stop him" stated Scott getting a nod from Jean and Ororo. Logan came down to the main floor with the rest of the group but said nothing.

Charles thought for a few moments before nodding, "Yes, what Erik is doing will cause people to lash out at any mutant they find…peaceful or not" he stated as the entire group heard something fly over the roof of the mansion.

Logan approached the window and looked out, seeing a Shield quinjet landing in the main part of the lawn, "Looks like we have some company" Logan announced as he spotted Nick Fury walk out from the back of the quinjet with a fully suited up Captain America. "This day just got very interesting" he remarked stepping away from the window as the duo approached the door.

The knock was loud and brief as Scott opened the door to Fury and Steve Rogers, "We need to talk" stated Fury.


	25. Tense Talks

**Xavier's Office**

Xavier's office was not the best place to hold this level of meeting, but he was not going to walk Nick Fury and one of his Avengers down into basement of the X-Mansion and seat them around the X-Men Briefing table. Charles sat behind his desk with Scott, Jean, Hank, and Ororo flanking both sides of him with Fury standing solitary in front of the desk with Logan standing next to Steve Rogers near the door.

Steve Rogers, otherwise known as Captain America was eyeing the stare down between Fury and Xavier carefully but lost his focus on them when looked at Logan who was standing next to him. Fury had given him a heads up that Logan was there, of course Rogers had known him as James Howlett and last he had seen him, they had parted ways following an offer to join the Howling Commandos back during the war. "Mind if I ask you a question?" he whispered not wanting to distract anyone with the conversation. Logan leaned over "Did you get frozen too?"

Logan smirked and nearly burst out in laughter, "Captain, I was already in my eighties when I met you. Let's just say I took the long way here" he answered with a slight smile. Steve Rogers nodded and returned his focus to the task at hand.

"This has gone too far Charles" bellowed Fury, "I've got the World Security Council on my back about the Brotherhood enough and now this. Magneto can no longer be ignored."

"Is that what you think I've been doing? Ignoring him?" replied Charles with annoyance oozing from his voice. "Erik is one of the most elusive people on this planet, finding him was never going to be easy. We were just about to start preparing to go and handle the situation when you arrived and disrupted my school."

Fury sighed "The World Security Council has some directive control over Shield, they are requesting a meeting with me and they have not been quiet about their intentions."

"What intentions are those?" asked Charles.

"The council will demand that I act on the Brotherhood and more importantly than that, they will demand that I send in the Avengers" explained Fury. Steve Rogers scanned the room, Fury had mentioned that he attempted to get a few members of Xavier's team onto the original Avengers, but Xavier had told him no.

Scott locked eyes with Rogers and held his stare for a few moments, Scott was not the most trusting of people and the idea of the Avengers going into Genosha and bringing down Magneto as nice as it sounded would only make things worse. "You send in the Avengers and all you do is prove that Magneto is right…that humanity will always come for them no matter what happens" proclaimed Scott taking a small step forward.

Fury looked up at the leader of the X-Men, "I agree, which is what brings me here. I do not want to send the Avengers into Genosha unless I have absolutely no other choice."

"Then what is he doing here?" asked Scott pointing at Rogers who took his own step forward.

"Cap is here to show the Security Council how serious I am about this situation, I have no intention of contacting Stark, Banner, or the others. What I want to do is tell the Security Council that I am sending in a new specially trained team…I'm talking about you guys" explained Fury as Ororo could see Logan getting uncomfortable.

"We don't work for Shield" stated Jean.

"Didn't say you would, its only to handle this situation and then we all go back to how things were" answered Fury as Ororo watched Logan turn and leave the room. She quickly followed him without a word as the group continued to speak.

Logan sighed, he knew what was coming next…they would ask him to come with them, that they needed him if they were going to succeed and as much as he never wanted to get involved in things like this again, he knew he would say yes.

Ororo grabbed Logan's arm, "Where are you going?" she asked as Logan turned to face her.

"Hoping if I find a good spot to lay low, somewhere I can avoid getting involved in all of this" he explained before turned back to leave.

"If we can help make this world a better place…it is our duty to try" stated Ororo before Logan turned to face her again.

"Have you considered the fact that the people that Magneto took Genosha from…may not deserve saving. These people enslaved and murdered mutants…just for being different. Maybe Magneto isn't the bad guy here" stated Logan looking directly into Ororo's eyes.

"Regardless of what those people did, they should pay for those crimes in jail but not with their lives, Magneto has been waiting years for something like this. It isn't about saving the mutants who were enslaved it was about seizing power, to create his Mutant Utopia that he obsesses over. I want Mutants and Humans to be equal not because we forced them too, but because they realize that they were wrong all along" explained Ororo who made her way back to Xavier's office. Logan sighed and turned up the stairs to go to his room and hopefully sleep until it was all over.

Ororo returned to see they were still arguing, "What about the allegations of Mutant slavery? Are those true?" asked Jean prompting Fury to look rather melancholy.

"It's true, we've been investigating Genosha for the last two years, every time I send a report up the chain of command, I'm told I need more evidence. So, I sent in someone to find out, get enough evidence that they couldn't ignore it" explained Fury who looked regrettably at Charles.

Hank saw the look and spoke, "What did you do?"

Fury looked at Hank and sighed "I sent in a mutant to investigate the slavery claims and report back. He arrived on the island as planned but never ended up making a report. I have reason to believe that there are those in power who were backing Genosha and therefore attempted to keep Shield out of their affairs."

Charles sighed heavily "Who did you send?"

Fury looked stone faced as the X-Men stared him down waiting for an answer, "Remy LeBeau."

"What?" Ororo exclaimed almost shouting as Fury looked at her. "You sent Remy into Genosha alone knowing that he might be taken into slavery?"

Fury sighed "I explained the risk to him and despite them he chose to do what was best for everyone."

"You sought him out…you knew that he left here after the outbreak and that he would happily put himself into the fire no matter the circumstances" spat Scott who became very hostile to Fury. "Why not send in your own agents?"

"Like I told you, I receive a lot of resistance when I look into Genosha. I send in one of my agents and the whole world would know I was looking into them. I send in a mutant that I have no official connection to…and nobody is the wiser." Fury was on the defensive now, Scott could sense that.

"You could have contacted us…we would have looked into it" stated Hank getting affirmative nods from everyone else in the room.

"If I had done that, which by the way I've basically been told to screw off every time I've come to you with anything up to this point. If you all did agree to investigate, and you were all captured I would be left with no choice but send in the Avengers and all hell would break loose. I send in one man, something happens I can let you handle it, and everybody wins." Fury explained seeing the distrust oozing from the faces of the X-Men.

"More like, you knew that if Remy were captured we would help no matter what the circumstances" answered Scott as Fury took a step towards the desk and Xavier.

"You have spent years waiting for a chance to bridge the gap between humans and mutants…if a human team goes in and takes down Magneto, he becomes a martyr and it turns into a Mutant-Human showdown that none of us want to even think about. You handle it, and the world owes a group of mutants a great debt…I'd say that's a win." Fury put his hand forward as a peace offering, Charles looked at the hand for several moments and shook it.

Fury smiled "Need a lift to Genosha?" he asked looking at Scott.

"We have a ride of our own" answered Scott as he led Jean, Ororo, and Hank out of Xavier's office.


	26. Suiting Up

**Logan's Room**

Logan was packing his bags, if he moved quickly enough maybe he could get away before they asked him. He knew they would, they were going on mission and having an unstoppable killing machine walking in beside them would make things easier. Logan always hoped to avoid this kind of thing, he only stepped in with Jubilee because he was the only option. Logan's tuned senses could hear the footsteps approaching, the X-Men were suiting up and he listened waiting for a set of footsteps to stop in front of his door. He heard the heavy footsteps of Hank pass, then the light footed Ororo and Jean. Only Scott left, the unquestioned leader of the team, he would be the one who would stop.

Scott stood at the end of the hallway watching the others head to their rooms to get anything they would need before they head to suit up in the basement. His ruby gaze turned to the door that had belonged to Remy for most of their time at the house, his thoughts switched to Remy for a moment hoping beyond hope that Remy was okay. He shook off that thought as he began the seemingly never-ending walk to the door. He sighed before he knocked, "Logan, we need to talk" he said after knocking not wanting to waste time waiting for an answer to his knock.

Logan opened the door locking eyes with Scott's visor, "I don't like you…you don't like me…but those people need us. If I thought we could do this without you, I would do it without a second thought, but the facts are the facts. Magneto has an army, an army that will stand between us and him and we need all the help we can get." Logan remained stone faced as Scott spoke. "Jean believes that you have a place here, maybe she's right maybe she's not…I don't much care, what I care about is protecting as many people as I can. So, if your game…meet downstairs in ten minutes with whatever stuff you need for a fight because we're about to be in a big one." Scott turned without an answer and went to join Jean in their room to prepare himself.

Logan closed the door and turned his back to it with his eyes closed, he sighed before moving to his bag and pulling out a smaller duffle bag. He unzipped the bag and looked at the suit he hadn't seen in almost twenty years.

**Scott and Jean's Room**

Jean was already suited up by the time Scott arrived, he took in her beauty, savoring every single detail. She was wearing an yellow suit that had blue colored arms that went all the way down to her wrists with blue accenting the yellow up the middle of the suits torso. He didn't know how taking Magneto down would go, they had been chasing him for so long and they were finally going to catch up to him. He hugged Jean from behind, taking in her strawberry scent that she loved during the summer months.

Jean could sense Scott's trepidation even before he entered their room, they were linked in a way that few others could possibly understand. They had shared a telepathic link for a few years now, there were no secrets, complete and utter trust. He pulled out his X-Men uniform, a mostly blue suit with a yellow X that ran across his chest. Scott turned and looked at Jean, "My Marvel Girl" he joked getting a huge eye roll from Jean.

"I hated that name" she remarked getting a hearty laugh from Scott who came up and gave her a kiss. When the X-Men originally started as a team they decided that codenames would be the best way to hide as much of their identity as possible. Scott chose Cyclops, Ororo was Storm, and Hank had always been known as Beast. Jean chose Marvel Girl as her codename and it took her a whole two missions to decide she hated it. She dropped the name and hadn't used a code name since allowing her first name to be her name and frankly nobody decided to argue with her. They stood together for a few moments before turning towards the door that would lead to the hall and the mission that awaited them.

They entered the hall to find Ororo waiting for them, she was wearing her all white uniform with gold wrist bands and X logo over her heart. She simply nodded as the Scott and Jean approached, Hank was already down the stairs with his blue X-Men pants and no top because he said it restricted his movement too much.

As the group went down the stairs they heard a final door open and close, Logan came jogging to the stairs and joined in behind them, his suit by some miracle matched pretty well with the team with a faded yellow color with sharp black stripes that sprung from both sides of his torso but never meeting in the middle like an animal, the shoulders were a blue with blue gloves and boots. The group watched him carefully as he joined them "What are you losers staring at?"

Ororo smiled "Nice suit" she said as she headed down the stairs towards the elevators that would take them down to the basement below. The group of five entered the elevator as is whirred to life and began to descend to the main complex that the X-Men used the doors were stuck open for a brief second too long and Logan could have sworn he heard ice crack when they did close. The doors opened, and Logan followed them down the hall towards a set of double doors that opened revealing Professor Xavier waiting for them with Nick Fury and Steve Rogers and an all black plane parked behind them in some kind of a hanger.

Hank reached them first "I'll get the Black Bird up and running" he said as he headed off to do pre-flight checks and make sure everything was buttoned up.

Scott and the others came to a stop next to the Professor "Alright, when we all arrive in Genosha…" started the Professor.

"Whoa, we?" stated Fury. "I'm afraid that I need you with me in Washington trying to keep the military from starting an invasion of their own."

"I intend to travel with my team Fury, we need all hands on deck for this one" responded Xavier as the X-Men stood behind their mentor.

"I understand that but I'm selling you as a new special team that works for Shield, having you in the room will hopefully keep this from turning into something none of us want to see. There will be powerful people in this room Charles, and majority of them aren't interested in a peaceful ending. I need all the backup I can get my hands on." Fury looked at Xavier with a serious look in his eyes and Charles relented.

"Fine, I'll go with you to ensure that we get our chance to end this whole thing peacefully" agreed Charles who looked back at the X-Men. "May I have a moment to talk with them before we all head off?"

Fury raised his hands in defeat and started leading Steve Rogers back towards the elevator the X-Men entered from. Steve stopped by Logan "Good luck out there" he said as he and Logan shook hands.

"I've never been one for good luck" replied Logan garnering a nod from Steve who joined Fury by the elevator.

Charles looked at Scott, Jean, and Ororo, "Watch each other's backs and stay focused, Magneto will attempt to turn you to his side. No matter what he says or does, do not allow doubt to enter your mind about what we are fighting for. Peace is not something we can bring about tomorrow but Magneto could start a war that mutants will have to fight for him and we must protect whatever relationship we have with humanity that we can.

Ororo moved to the Black Bird first "Have faith in yourself Ororo" advised Charles getting a smile and nod from Ororo.

Jean and Scott moved along next "Watch out for each other, Magneto has a chance to complete his ultimate victory. He will be more vicious and determined than ever" he instructed.

"We'll stop him Professor" replied Scott as he followed Jean into the Black Bird.

Logan came to a stop next to Charles "I need to make something clear before we leave" stated Logan soliciting a look from the Professor "I don't much care about how mutants and humans coexist or any of that other crap…what I care about is good people living to see another day. If I get a chance to take out Magneto, I'm taking it…I'll send him straight to hell."

Charles looked to the floor, his mind reaching out for Erik's knowing that Erik was wearing his helmet which was preventing Charles from entering his mind. He wanted to speak with him again, convince him to join them, to fight the good fight. "I hope that it won't come to that" replied Charles.

"But it might…and if it does I'll kill the man you love" explained Logan as a heavy silence fell between the two mutants. "Just thought you should understand that before it was too late."

Logan walked towards the Black Bird and took a seat in the middle of the plane with Hank and Scott as pilot and co-pilot with Jean and Storm sitting directly behind them and several rows of seating behind them. Logan sat behind them as the Black Bird started and the ceiling opened above the plane and the ship rose up through where the basketball court was located and the plane flew into the sky on the way to Genosha and to war.


	27. Stowaways

**Black Bird**

Logan hated flying, it was uncomfortable, cramped and rarely ended safely for him. He looked in front of the plane as Hank and Scott worked the controls while Ororo looked over maps of Genosha looking for the best way in, Jean was organizing information on a console to his right. Information about Magneto and his Brotherhood filled the screen as well as intel from the ground most likely from Fury and Shield.

"Okay, we are on course for Genosha, should arrive in an hour" informed Hank as he stood up and made his way past Logan. He hit a button on the side behind Logan and a screen dropped from the top of the cabin and it filled with information about the mission. The X-Men gathered around as Scott stepped forward. "Okay listen up, we are going to be coming into Genosha from the South. There is a fleet of American ships to the East and Africa to the west is on high alert, so they hopefully will be distracted, and we can get in quiet. Shield's information has Magneto in the capitol building in Hammer Bay, it's a skyscraper and the tallest building in Genosha."

The screen highlighted the building breaking down the skyscraper floor by floor, a huge geothermal plant in the basement of the building powered the whole city. "Magneto is most likely at the top of the building overseeing his whole operation. As we approach Storm will create some fog and give us the cover we need to get to the building quietly. We will land on the roof and snag Magneto and get him out to Shield. Then we will return to get the humans and Remy out" stated Scott with supreme confidence.

"That easy huh?" remarked Logan from behind the others.

Scott looked at Logan "Probably not, but the roof is our best chance at ending this without people dying, if we come in on the ground, we will probably have to fight our way through an army of mutants not to mention risk the hostages. We grab Magneto, we cut the head off of the snake and getting the hostages out will be a lot easier" reasoned Scott.

"What about Remy?" asked Ororo thinking of her friend.

"Remy can handle himself, and frankly those hostages are in better hands with him than just about anybody else" explained Scott putting his hand on Ororo's shoulder. "We are going to save them…but Magneto must be stopped by any means necessary. If we don't stop him, he'll finally get the war he's been looking to start."

Ororo nodded her head and took a seat "Did anyone call Rogue?" she asked looking to Hank.

"I called her but there was no answer, I talked to her a few months ago, said that she was taking a vacation and we wouldn't be able to reach her" explained Hank who went to the pilot seat and checked the bearings of the Black Bird. "I'm upping our speed hopefully get us to Genosha faster."

Everyone took a seat and Logan got a sniff of something, he started looking around. "What is it?" asked Jean.

Logan sniffed around for a second and then stopped and shook his head "Well…" he said as he put his hand on a storage locker. "We've got stowaways" he said pulling the locker open and revealing Jubilee, Bobby Drake, and Armando Munoz fell out of the locker.

Jubilee jumped up, "I can explain" she said as Logan got in front of her.

"Explain? We are on our way to war zone and you decide you want to hitch a ride?" he nearly shouted as Jubilee stammered an explanation.

"Hey" shouted Scott getting everyone's attention. "Jubilee, what are you guys doing here?"

"Okay, so the other night Bobby mentioned to us that he could probably freeze the elevator that leads to the basement. We laughed at first but then we got curious and decided to let him try." Jubilee shuffled her feet "So, earlier this morning when Hank and Ororo came up from the basement, Bobby was hiding and when they went by…he reached out and froze the elevator in place and me and Armando joined him and rode the elevator down."

Hank looked to the floor "Oh my Stars and Garters."

"We only wanted to look around a little bit and we ended up in the hanger and the Black Bird was open, so we went in to look at it. Next thing you know Hank is walking up to the plane and we hide in the locker and now your all caught up" finished Jubilee with a feeble attempt at a innocent smile.

"Oh boy" remarked Jean with a shake of the head "Really bad day to get curious."

Scott sighed "Listen up, you're not supposed to be here but there is nothing we can do about that now. You three sit in the back and stay there, don't move, don't talk. We will figure out punishment when we get home. Move" he said prompting Jubilee, Bobby, and Armando to head to the back and sit.

Jean and Scott huddled together "We can't take them with us" she remarked as Scott looked back at the kids.

"We can't just drop them off on the side of the road either, running to the Shield forces in the fleet slows us down and risks the entire mission. They will be safe here on the Black Bird and we'll drop them off with Shield when we bring them Magneto" explained Scott as he noticed Logan standing strangely. "Logan, what's wrong?"

Logan was breathing heavy "I can't move."

Scott and Jean looked at each other when the Black Bird wretched to the side as right wing was torn completely off.

**Hammer Bay**

Magneto knew that Charles would not be able to help himself, that his X-Men would come and try to stop him. He had been ready, he reached out with his power for several hours, learning all the bits of magnetic energy in the area surrounding Hammer Bay. He was a master of his power after all, when the Black Bird got close enough it was easy to point out. He reached with his power and lightly grasped the plane. He didn't want to kill them if he didn't need to, but he was too close now, his mutant utopia was within reach and he was not going to let the X-Men get in his way.

**Black Bird**

Scott and Jean turned end over end as the Black Bird spun, Jean used her abilities to hold Scott and herself in place. She looked around, the kids were secured in their seats in the back, Hank was attempting to direct the Black Bird without a wing and Ororo was holding on for dear life. Logan came undone from his frozen state and was spinning as well and Jean reached out bringing Logan to join Scott and herself. "We are going down" yelled Hank from the front.

"Hank, try and get us as close as you can to the island" ordered Scott who watched Hank work the controls.

Jean looked and used her power to pull Ororo who latched on to Scott when she got there. Jean pulled the seat belts open and brought Jubilee, Armando, and Bobby to the center with them. "Everyone, I'm going to create and telepathic shield around us, so we will survive the crash. Stay close and we will be fine" ordered Jean as Hank worked. "Hank get back here now" shouted Jean as Hank finished his work.

The back of the plane was ripped open next forcing Jean to shift her focus to the shield protecting her friends. Hank got stuck making his way towards the center of the Black Bird where the others were situated. He pulled himself free but bumped his head and his unconscious form quickly flew towards the open end of the plane.

Armando saw what was happening and realized that nobody was going to be able to do anything. Armando then made the only decision he could think of, he leapt from the shield and grabbed Hank in midair and threw him back to safety.

Jubilee screamed but wasn't sure if noise actually came out, Armando flew out the back to the plane and disappeared. She looked into the darkness for a few seconds before the Black Bird crashed into the sea.


	28. Codenames

**Genosha**

Jubilee awoke with a start, she was soaking wet, she looked side to side quickly and found the others surrounding her. Ororo was checking on Hank, Jean and Scott were talking a few feet from her. Bobby was nowhere in sight and neither was Logan and she soon felt her heart begin to drop. She remembered Armando throwing himself out of Jean's shield to save Hank from certain death. Jean looked over and noticed Jubilee, "Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked as if there was a good answer.

"Armando?" Jubilee replied quietly. Jean gave a somber look and shook her head bringing tears to Jubilee's eyes. "Bobby and Logan?"

Jean smiled "They are fine, Logan went to scout, and Bobby asked to go with him, they should be back soon."

Jubilee couldn't stop the tears from coming "Its all my fault, going down to the basement was a terrible idea and now Armando is gone" she sobbed.

Jean pulled Jubilee in for a hug "Listen to me…Armando did what he thought was right back there. He chose to save Hank when none of us could. He was a hero who was where he needed to be when he needed to be there" Jean looked deep into Jubilee's eyes. "All you can do is make sure to be the best you can be in memory of him."

Jubilee looked around, they were on a beach and there were bits of the Black Bird washing up on the shore. "Did we make it?" she asked getting a firm nod from Jean who stood up and went to check on Hank.

Logan burst through the jungle behind the group with Bobby and moved to see Scott giving a concerned look towards Jubilee as Bobby went to see her. "No patrols or lookouts from what I can tell got pretty close to the city too. Once we get there is when things might get dicey" explained Logan.

Scott nodded "Good, Magneto probably feels like he has complete control of the island and isn't worried as much about the ground security with a city full of mutants ready to defend him." Logan nodded and headed towards Jubilee and Bobby.

Jean approached Scott, "Hank is ready to get moving" she explained getting a nod from Scott.

"Okay, everyone…" Scott started before splashing came from the sea and Armando crawled his way to shore.

Jubilee and Bobby ran and tackled the young man and laughed with happiness and suddenly a relief fell over the group, Hank was muttering something under his breath that nobody, but Logan could hear. "How are you still alive?" asked Jubilee.

Armando smiled "My body adapts to its environment when I landed in the water I grew gills and fins and swam here as fast as I could" Bobby and Jubilee laughed and brought Armando in for another hug.

Scott smiled and then returned to business "Alright everyone circle up" he said causing Armando and the others to return to the group as Scott began. "Okay, obviously things haven't gone to plan what so ever but we've had some luck. We ended up close to our destination, a beach near the capital city of Hammer Bay where Magneto has holed himself up. Logan and Bobby scouted ahead for us and there are no patrols between here and the city. So we will make our way toward the city and figure out the infiltration from there. On the way I need everyone to keep an eye out for possible transport, without the Black Bird we are going to have get a hold of something that either flies or floats." Everyone nodded and turned to head off, but Scott raised a hand "Now, before we go I want to use codenames from here on out if you have one, I'm Cyclops."

"Just Jean" remarked Jean with a small smile.

"Storm" answered Ororo as she turned her attention to Hank who was clearly waiting his turn.

Hank gave a reassuring look to the young students who had brought themselves along "Beast."

Bobby gave a toothy grin "Iceman" he said proud of himself as usual.

Armando thought for a moment before a small smile escaped his lips "Darwin."

Jubilee looked at the others and shrugged "I think I'll stick with Jubilee, since it kind of fits with my powers any way."

Logan looked down to the ground and back at the others holding his dog tags as they swung from his neck "…Wolverine."

Cyclops nodded as he motioned for everyone to follow him into the jungle, it was dense and thick with greenery. The X-Men made their way as quietly as possible towards Hammer Bay.

"Glad your still with us my boy" remarked Beast to Darwin as they moved towards the city "Thank you for saving my life, ingenious thinking, knowing your mutant power would save you."

Darwin smiled "Your welcome, but I didn't know if my power would save me…but I know how important you are to the team and more importantly to the school. As far as I'm concerned saving you was worth the price if it ensured a better chance of success here."

Beast looked at the boy with shock "Listen to me very carefully, the most important thing at the school are you kids who bring it to life. Never put yourself in mortal danger for me again…understood?" Darwin nodded with a serious look and the group continued the march.

"You okay, kid?" asked Wolverine with Jubilee hanging in the back to cover in case they were walking into some kind of trap and ended up surrounded.

"Well, I thought I got Darwin over there killed but didn't so I guess I'm doing much better than I was about an hour ago" she answered not wanting to feel that sense of loss again anytime soon.

"Listen…if things get bad. If we end up in a fight that we probably won't win, get behind me and run like hell understand?" ordered Wolverine grabbing Jubilee's arm and looking her in the eyes to make sure she understood. Jubilee nodded, and Wolverine let her go.

Cyclops and Jean were having so many situations playing out in their minds as they got closer to the city. Their telepathic link was allowing them to think of contingencies for every possible outcome the two could come up with. "Try not to panic Scott, its all going to be okay."

They came to a clearing where Cyclops and Jean took a knee while the others followed suit "Look over there" called Storm pointing towards a warehouse where they could see guards. "Probably where the hostages are being kept" she hypothesized.

Cyclops nodded "Alright, we'll get them first."


	29. Situation Room

**Washington D.C.**

Charles was following Fury and Rogers down the hall of the White House, "We're headed for a briefing with a General named Fredricks. He's been on the front line so to speak with the Brotherhood, and he is really pushing for a major military offensive here" explained Fury as they approached the doors.

The flight, and security check had been very long and tedious for Charles. Even with Fury and Steve Rogers things dragged on and on. Following the X-Men's movement had been fairly easy thanks to the new Cerebro hookup with his chair. However, now he was quite distracted as he rolled his way down the blue carpeted and white walled hallway.

"What's the play?" asked Rogers looking between Fury and Xavier.

"Fredricks respects you…use that to our advantage and hopefully get him to back off long enough for the X-Men to finish the job" replied Fury getting a nod from Charles.

Charles was focusing on the X-Men at that moment, he had sensed the Black Bird had been taken down by Magneto. He had sensed Jean take control and save the others, but now Magneto's helmet was beginning to interfere. "Do you have satellites in place yet?" asked Charles as Fury reached for the door. Fury nodded and the turned the knob.

Charles scanned the room quickly, he saw plenty of men in uniform, but was pretty sure he could pick out Fredricks. He was an older man with brown hair and a thick mustache, Xavier was fairly certain the hair was colored. Fredricks looked at Fury, Rogers and Xavier and sparked as smile as he threw his hand out to shake with Rogers. "Captain America, it is an honor" he nearly shouted to the room. The room itself continued the blue carpet from the hall with thick walks with a wood finish, there were clocks across top of the walls that highlighted times across the globe and there was a large table in the center of the room with chairs around it. The back wall across from the doors was a large screen with all kinds of information on it.

Rogers flashed a million dollar smile and returned the handshake with firm one of his own, "General."

"Ready to stand with us against these mutant terrorists once and for all" remarked Fredricks with an arrogant smile.

Fury stepped forward "The Avengers are not being called in on this mission, but I have dispatched a new team" he explained causing an annoyed Fredricks to look at him.

"The President is expecting to see Tony Stark show up and light up the sky and your telling me that you are sending some no name team in to handle the situation" complained Fredricks.

"I assure you that my team is more than capable of handling this situation" remarked Charles looking on the screen behind Fredricks that showed a satellite footage over Genosha. "Is that live?" asked Charles as he wheeled past Fredricks to the screen.

Fredricks looked around as a staffer confirmed it was live…there were several feeds going at the same time. Rogers picked up a sheet of paper and joined Xavier. "This screen shows where the hostages are being kept, the others are pinpointed around the skyscraper where Magneto is held up" he explained as the doors swung open.

Everyone turned and stood at attention as President Freeman entered the room with his perfect black suit with a red tie. He was black with gray hair, nearing the end of his final term as President of the United States. "Take a seat everyone, and what do we know?"

Fredricks stepped up "Sir, we know where the enemy is and where they are keeping the hostages, now we have multiple action plans in place, but you requested that Shield get the first crack at the Brotherhood."

"These are super powered individuals who have plenty of experience dealing with super powered individuals sending in the regular army isn't the right move if we can avoid loss of human life" explained the President. "Now I would like to hear what Director Fury has to say on the situation."

Fury stepped forward, "We have sent in a new team that specializes in mutant relations, they are called the X-Men. We have been prepping this team for quite some time and I believe they can handle whatever Magneto throws at them."

President Freeman sighed "What do you think Rogers?"

"I agree with Fury, I haven't known this team long, but I have no reason to think they are not capable of handling this situation." Rogers gave Xavier a reassuring nod as Xavier approached.

"My name is Charles Xavier, I have been preparing this team since they were young, and we have been moving to stop the Brotherhood since it formed. My team is already on the ground and frankly if you attempt to relieve this situation with the military all you are doing is proving that Magneto is right. If my team is able to do this quietly maybe we can put all of this behind us without causing an incident that could incite the rest of the worlds mutants into rash behavior" explained Charles getting a nod from President Freeman.

"Very well, we'll see how this situation develops and will act accordingly from there" ordered Freeman getting "Yes sirs" from the room.

Fredricks looked towards the satellite footage and spotted some movement near the warehouse where the hostages were being kept. "It looks like we are going to see how this team of yours is in the field" he remarked looking into the footage.

**Genosha**

Cyclops took position in front of the warehouse and looked in the jungle around the warehouse waiting for the others to get into position. They had put Jubilee, Iceman, and Darwin in a safe spot out of the danger zone while the trained X-Men took position. Wolverine was going in from the side with Jean while Storm and Beast covered the back of the building and hopefully free the hostages and find Remy in a healthy state.

Storm arrived at the back door and found it unguarded "Definitely amateurs, Magneto hasn't taken the time to teach these guys about security" she remarked as Beast looked up and spotted a high window.

He jumped up and landed on the roof and peeked in, there was a few guards inside but without knowing what they can do from a mutant ability could still make this dicey. He scanned the hostages and spotted Remy who was clearly in rough shape and had a collar around his neck that Beast assumed was inhibiting his mutant abilities or else he would have certainly escaped by now. He looked along the ceiling of the warehouse and saw beams that he could use to get into position when it all went down.

Storm saw Beast give a hand signal and she blew a stiffer wind across the building that knocked a few things at the front of the building which was the signal for Cyclops that everyone was in position. He could see Wolverine and Jean both lean out of the jungle enough for Cyclops to see them.

Cyclops aimed his visor just to the left of one of the guards and fired hitting a hunk of rusted metal the guards looked up and started moving towards Cyclops position. Wolverine blasted from the jungle and caught the guard on his side completely off-guard, he tackled the guard into the side of the warehouse and knocked the guard out. The other guard turned to help but was soon in the middle of the air and flying into a pile of junk almost twenty feet away.

Beast launched himself from the beams and landed on the two guards delivering several blows that incapacitated them. Cyclops came running out of the jungle as the guard that Jean threw started to stand up and Cyclops delivered his right fist to the guard's jaw knocking him out. Cyclops entered the warehouse to find Beast and Storm working to get the hostages ready to move, "Wolverine, go and get the kids we could use their help with this part" Cyclops ordered getting a nod from Wolverine who headed off to grab Jubilee and the others.

"Remy?" Jean asked getting a wave from Storm who was kneeling in the corner surrounded by hostages. Jean approached and found Remy to be in rough shape next to Storm who was looking him over. "How is he?"

"He's alive…Beast has been checking the other hostages for injuries before we start moving them" explained Storm. There is probably over a hundred people in here, the Black Bird was never going to get these many people out and without it we don't even have a way out of here."

Cyclops approached from behind them "Hammer Bay is a port, assuming Magneto is focused on the fleet just off shore, we should be able to get our hands on a decent sized ship and get these people and ourselves out of here."

Beast approached and checked on Remy who still hadn't spoken, "He's got broken ribs for sure and probably some internal bleeding, but I think he'll be okay."

"I'm always ok" muttered Remy with his Louisiana accent. Storm smiled, "Nice to see everyone again, I assume that this whole hostile Magneto takeover has caught the attention of the rest of the world."

"How does this collar work?" asked Beast as he started examining it on Remy's neck.

Remy coughed "The Genoshan's put them on all the mutants, it inhibits our powers and no I don't know how it works and only that a remote that the guard had is how it came off. When Sabretooth led the attack on the pit where I was being forced into slavery they managed to get them turned off and every single mutant other than me joined in the fight."

Cyclops looked Remy over and nodded "Ready to move Gambit?" he asked getting a smile from Remy.

Remy pulled himself up "Gambit is always ready."


	30. Splitting Up

**Hammer Bay, Genosha**

Magneto stared out of the window overlooking Hammer Bay, his city, where he would make his stand to fight against the rest of the world if he had to. He looked behind and saw Mystique his closest and oldest ally with her blue skinned body just waiting to take whatever form she needed to take. His focus soon turned to Sabretooth the brute whom he recruited soon after leaving Charles and the school behind. The extra man, Deadpool had been a thorn in Magneto's side ever since he joined them when they began planning this whole operation.

"Where are they?" Magneto asked as Mystique stepped forward to join him near the window where he had dropped David Moreau not too long ago.

"We just lost contact with the guards at the warehouse. That was about an hour ago so I would expect they will reach the city within the next half an hour depending on the pace they are moving" explained Mystique.

Magneto sighed as he pondered his next move "We could ambush them in the street, we have the numbers" explained Sabretooth with Deadpool getting excited at a chance to relieve his boredom. Deadpool was originally planning on working on his idea for a super villain rock band but Magneto wanted the three of them up top with him while they waited for the X-Men to show up.

"How many would we lose?" Magneto questioned as Sabretooth shrugged.

"If they brought my brother…a lot" expressed Sabretooth getting a nod from Magneto.

"He can really do that much damage?" asked Mystique unable to believe that one mutant could be capable of something like that without psychic abilities.

Deadpool laughed "Dude, you have no idea…we were on a mission in the Soviet Union fighting this big guy named Omega Red and Wolverine literally tore through not only a division of Soviet soldiers and Red, but we also dismantled this Russian Super Spy School for girls that I can't remember the name of." Mystique looked at Sabretooth who shrugged his agreement with Deadpool.

Magneto turned to face them, "Pull everyone back and clear a path to the harbor, we will give them a chance to leave without getting in our way."

"What?" stated Sabretooth "We aren't fighting?"

"We are not here to spill mutant blood if we don't have to, have Toad and Blob follow them to the harbor and make sure they leave, if they move toward us, we will handle it here in the building" ordered Magneto getting nods from the others. "The fleet's off shore?"

"They aren't coming any closer, but they are definitely just waiting on orders to start the attack" explained Mystique.

"The world will wait to see what the President will do, Charles has had a working relationship with Shield since the X-Men started. I would imagine the relationship between the two would prompt the X-Men getting first crack" explained Magneto as Mystique looked out over the cityscape.

"Will they leave with the humans?" she asked getting a quick look from Magneto.

"I assume they're foolish belief in humanity will bring them to us regardless of allowing them to leave without incident. Pull everyone away from the building and keep them away, we will handle this ourselves" Magneto ordered as everyone started moving.

**Outskirts of Hammer Bay**

Wolverine looked around as they got a few blocks into Hammer Bay, "Where is everyone?" he remarked as Cyclops got behind him.

"This is too easy" Cyclops said as Jean and Storm were moving the humans a block or two behind so that Cyclops and Wolverine could make sure the coast is clear. Beast was in the back helping Gambit. Jubilee and the others were spaced out amongst the hostages.

"We should be getting close to a street that will get us to the harbor" Storm remarked hoping that the hostages would keep moving at the pace they were keeping for now but the group would slow soon and if they were ambushed there would be a problem keeping them all together and safe.

Wolverine sighed as they progressed through the skyscraper lined streets of Hammer Bay, a city built on the back of mutant slavery. He looked around and saw nobody, he could smell people but they were moving away from them, "They're letting us go" he said to Cyclops as they turned and saw the harbor in the distance.

Cyclops nodded "I was thinking the same thing, Beast!" Beast handed Gambit to Iceman and made his way to the front quickly. "You're the fastest person here, get the harbor and find a ship that can get us to the fleet and that can carry the hostages."

Beast nodded and made his way down the street to the harbor, "Jubilee" Cyclops called out as the young mutant joined them up front "I need you, Iceman and Darwin to get the hostages including Gambit to the Harbor safely, Beast will have a ship waiting for you by the time you get there. I didn't want to put you guys into this situation, but I need all the help I can get to finish this." Cyclops ordered getting a nod from Jubilee. "Keep them moving, I don't think you'll run into any trouble but stay alert and be ready for anything."

Storm and Jean moved forward with Cyclops and Wolverine "The four of us against whatever Magneto has in that tower with him?" Storm inquired getting a shrug from Cyclops.

"I'd say we've seen worse odds" remarked Cyclops with a small smile.

Jean skimmed the minds of the rest of the team, not a deep look just a quick look. Storm was ready but worry about Gambit was in the back of her mind. Wolverine was going through everything in his mind, he was thinking of Sabretooth, the fight that was almost certainly coming. Cyclops was focused on the mission, bring Magneto to justice once and for all and no matter what it took. His own mind reached out to Jean "I love you" he mentally told her with a smile crossing his lips which she happily returned.

Wolverine turned towards the tower, it was easy to spot, by far the tallest building in the city. "I really hope that the elevators work" he remarked.


	31. Street Fight

**The Situation Room, Washington D.C.**

Xavier watched on the screen as the X-Men split up as the group of hostages proceeded to the harbor while the main team headed for Magneto. "They are supposed to get those hostages to safety" called out Fredricks. Xavier looked over at the man and noted the disdain he had for the entire situation, he clearly wanted to turn this into a military situation, but President Freeman had resisted his urging especially after the X-Men rescued the hostages.

"Relax General…things are under control" Xavier responded. Fredricks shot Xavier an annoyed look. Xavier looked across the room, realizing that if push came to shove he might need to argue against military action and the President would be surrounded by people he trusted who may not agree with Charles. Charles believed that Fury and Rogers had his back but the two of them may not be able to convince the President to trust him.

**Capitol Building, Hammer Bay**

Toad had radioed that they had split up, the hostages were heading to the harbor with a few younger mutants and the main X-Men team was heading for the Capitol Building. Magneto brought the radio to his mouth, "Toad, follow the hostage group and make sure they get to the harbor and stay there, we will handle the X-Men" he ordered not bothering to wait for a response from Toad.

Magneto turned to see the others waiting for orders, "Get Avalanche, Whirlwind, and Blob on the first floor I want them ready to keep the X-Men down there. Deadpool will go down with them to give them some extra firepower. Mystique and Sabretooth will stay here and we will make our stand here and we will stop them here if it comes to it" Magneto ordered.

"If the humans attack?" asked Mystique wanting to be a part of every facet of the plan and every contingency.

Magneto smirked "If the humans attack I will handle it."

**Streets of Hammer Bay, Genosha**

Cyclops was being vigilant as they moved down the street, they hadn't seen any guards yet and they were almost within sprint distance of the building. As they approached they saw movement inside, 3 men walked out of the front entrance and they were focused on the X-Men. Wolverine popped his claws and Jean and Storm spread out.

Blob was in the middle of the trio with Avalanche on his left and Whirlwind on his right, "Start walking the other way pipsqueaks" he shouted as the X-Men approached.

Wolverine scoffed "I'll handle this" he remarked as he marched ahead and came within a few feet of Blob and the others.

Deadpool was several floors above the standoff as he focused in on Wolverine, the years of experimentation and pain flooded back through his deranged mind. He reached for a mega phone he had packed the day before they left Nicaragua and lifted it to his mouth "Hey Logan" he spoke causing Wolverine to look up around for the source.

"Wade?" Wolverine questioned as he scanned the area.

"Weapon X just wasn't the same without you, seriously I haven't been called bub in like forever…Sabretooth tried it once…it was awkward" Deadpool called out and he checked his weapons to make sure they were loaded. "They did a lot of bad things to me after you left, bub. I'd say its about time you paid for their sins." Deadpool dove out of the window he was looking out with his katana's drawn "Cowabunga!"

Wolverine had no time to react as Deadpool's katanas went through his clavicle on both sides of his body. The two warriors fell flat to the ground with Deadpool on top of Wolverine. Storm moved to help but Avalanche used his powers to cause her to lose her footing and fall. Wolverine pushed his claws up and drove them into Deadpool's chest pushing the red and black clad mutant up and backward toward the building. The claws pulled out of Deadpool who slashed with his katanas as the two different metals clashed with sparks flying. The two combatants were blocking each other as they moved towards the front entrance.

Cyclops fired an optic blast at Blob, the blast pushed into Blob's body, but the body absorbed and returned the blast forcing Cyclops to leap out the way as the returned blast flew into a parked car behind him. Blob started moving forward when another car flew from the side and caught Blob off-guard.

Whirlwind started spinning towards the group and delivered a kick to Jean after she threw the car at Blob. She hit the ground and rolled for a few feet.

Wolverine and Deadpool continued to parry each other's blows until Deadpool did a spin kick that sent Wolverine flying through a glass door into the main building. Wolverine rolled to his feet with glass sticking to his blue and yellow suit. The lobby has white tiled floor with plain walls and two sets of elevators that went all the way to the top of the building. Deadpool charged again, and they continued striking at each other all the way to the elevator door. Wolverine's claw went into the elevator doors and he ran his claws through them towards Deadpool who dodged and sliced along Wolverine's midsection. Wolverine spun and managed to slice Deadpool in the back. Deadpool and Wolverine took a few steps back from each other and watched as they both healed instantly. "We're going to be at this all day" remarked Deadpool as the two charged again, when they collided Wolverine shifted his weight causing the two of them to barrel through the sliced elevator doors and tumbling down the shaft.

Avalanche approached Storm slowly with a smile, "Just stay down girlie" he remarked arrogantly.

"Girlie?" Storm replied as her eyes turned white and storm clouds gathered above. When Avalanche looked up, Storm gathered the wind and used it to launch herself delivering a spinning kick to Avalanche who was thrown off by the attack as he staggered back, Storm delivered several strikes to the Greek mutant.

Cyclops cleaned himself off and ran towards the still groggy Blob who was leaning against a light post trying to recover from the car that hit him. Cyclops spotted a small parking meter and used his optic blast to melt the end freeing it from the ground. He lifted the parking meter and used it like a club as he delivered blow after blow against the Blob who was backing up from the assault.

Jean watched Whirlwind begin to spin again towards her when she reached out with her telepathic power and grasped him in midair. She allowed him to spin and build up momentum before using his momentum to send him flying to a parked car, the car shredded as Whirlwind hit it. He was not moving much less spinning after the collision and Jean reached out with her abilities and made sure he was still breathing, there was a small groan before he passed out.

Avalanche send an aftershock through the ground shaking the area breaking up Storm's timing which he used to send a shockwave into Storm sending her back. He looked over and spotted Whirlwind the car, he returned his focus to find Storm floating in the air as lightning came down and enveloped her. "What the hell?" he muttered just before Storm send a blast of lightning that knocked him out.

**Geothermal Plant**

Wolverine looked up and realized they had fallen to the basement, where the geothermal plant that powered the city was located. He looked over and spotted Deadpool kneeling on the platform after forcing the doors open, he was popping his shoulder back into place, "Breaking bones sucks, it takes forever to fix itself" he remarked as Wolverine stood up and got his bearings.

Deadpool turned with his pistols and started firing landing every bullet into Wolverine, who staggered back and waited for the holes to fix themselves, Deadpool's leg popped and he threw his now empty pistols at Wolverine who took the hit and gave chase as Deadpool ran down a catwalk and drew his katanas. The katanas collided with claws as the healing warriors landed and deflected blows repeatedly.

**Street Level**

Cyclops was starting to tire out from hitting Blob and was quite happy that Storm and Jean were making their way to help him. He lost focus just long enough for Blob to deliver a backhand that sent him flying into a street lamp post. He groaned when he hit the ground as he looked up to see Storm and Jean starting to fight him themselves.

Storm tried a whirlwind against Blob, but the large mutant didn't budge as Jean kept sending objects flying towards him. Blob shrugged off the objects since he was ready for them this time, he caught one of cars Jean threw and sent it back flying at her. Jean caught the car with her mind and set it to the side. Storm started gathering more lightning above them and sent it at Blob who took the damage head on and was seemingly being overwhelmed by the lightning, but he started making his way towards the duo.

Jean reached out with her powers and grasped Blob himself, "Whoa, whoa, whoa" he said as he slowly floated into the air. Jean groaned as she used all her might to lift Blob and send him flying into the side of a building behind him.

Blob broke through the side of building and skidded through walls and offices before coming to a slow stop, he groaned in pain before passing out.

Jean dropped to her knees after exerting so much energy to send Blob into the building, Cyclops and Storm ran to her side. "You okay?" Cyclops asked worrying that Jean had pushed herself too far.

Jean nodded "I just need a second" she replied as Storm stood up and looked towards the skyscraper that acted as the Capitol Building for Genosha's now defunct government "Where's Wolverine?"

**Geothermal Plant**

Wolverine and Deadpool had been trading blows for almost ten minutes at this point and neither warrior wanted to give in to the other. Deadpool delivered a spin kick that sent Wolverine back into a railing that led down into a deep pit that allowed the plant access to the geothermal energy for the city. Deadpool slashed but Wolverine dodged landing a blow on the red and black clad mercenary. Deadpool's sword sliced through the railing causing it to start falling into the pit as Wolverine and Deadpool sized each other up.

"Why you doing this Wade? You were never one for ideals" remarked Wolverine as he tried to figure out a way to end the fight.

"Pay's decent and I'll admit a chance to tussle with you sounded like a good time" responded Deadpool as he jumped with his katana's drawn and flying towards Wolverine.

Wolverine sidestepped and drove his claws into Deadpool's side, "See you around Wade" he remarked as he pushed Deadpool towards and over the railing into the pit below.

Wolverine watched as Deadpool plummeted down swearing he could hear Deadpool yell "Screw you"

Wolverine huffed as he turned and made his way back towards the elevators hoping that he could ride that instead of taking the stairs back up.

**Lobby**

Cyclops, Jean, and Storm approached the elevators and were trying to decide whether to take them up or take the stairs. "Stairs are probably safer" remarked Storm.

"No sign of Wolverine" said Jean looking side to side noticing that the elevator doors had been shredded. "Well we can't go that way."

"Yeah, but we are definitely on the clock here, they already know we are coming so we take the other elevator and hope it works out" ordered Cyclops as the elevator dinged to life. The trio looked at each other knowing they hadn't hit a button yet. "Get ready" he said as they prepared to fight anything that came at them.

The elevator doors whirred open and Wolverine was leaning towards the back of the elevator, "Going up?" he said as the trio smiled and joined him. Cyclops turned and hit the top floor button where Magneto would be waiting for them.


	32. Betrayed?

**Hammer Bay Harbor**

Beast had reached the harbor in a few minutes, much quicker than the rest of the group would be there. He scanned the various ships that were docked and hoped that one of the larger ships would work in getting everyone out quickly and safely. He spotted a tanker and that was the only ship he could see that would definitely fit everyone. He looked back and spotted the large group of humans making their way towards him. He ran towards the ship and boarded making his way quickly to the bridge hoping for a quick and easy startup.

Jubilee led the group to the harbor maybe fifteen minutes after Beast had arrived and saw the lights were on the tanker and saw a blue blur moving around the top of the structure. She turned to look at the others "Head for that ship there, find somewhere safe to hold up until we leave" she ordered as people streaked by her to possible freedom.

Darwin and Ice Man went with the group to make sure they boarded safely as Jubilee hung back to make sure everyone got to the ship and nobody was left behind. She looked back into the streets of Hammer Bay and saw that everyone had made it before turning to follow the rest of the group to the tanker.

Toad looked on from an alley way out of sight, "They have boarded a ship" he remarked into the radio.

"Keep out of the way and let us know if they make any move back into the city, the fighting downstairs just started, and they'll be coming up after us next if Deadpool and the others can't stop them" replied Sabretooth.

Toad put his radio down and was about to sit when he spotted the mutant, the one he had chased in the mall funneling people onto the ship. She had never left his mind ever since Sabretooth's brother got involved. He intended to leave it alone but the way she was able to avoid him was eating him up, "Screw it" he remarked before jumping his way towards Jubilee.

Jubilee watched as the last person got onto the ship and looked back in time to see Toad flying towards her and delivering a drop kick to her chest. Jubilee rolled to a stop and looked to see Toad standing in front of the ramp to the tanker. "Nice to see you again" he remarked as the hostages started screaming seeing Toad attack one of the people saving them.

Ice Man and Darwin heard the screams and tried to make their way through the swarm of people but were having trouble making their way to help Jubilee.

Toad ran towards Jubilee and attempted another kick, but Jubilee rolled out of the way and Toad expertly landed without issue. Toad's jumping was second nature to him and missing and being able to stick the landing was easy as it could get for him. "Even if your friends manage to get past the lobby, Sabretooth and Mystique will be waiting with Magneto on the top floor and trust me nothing will get past them."

Jubilee watched Toad carefully, she had received some training after what happened at her family's home and she was using that training now. Wolverine had taught her about body language, Toad was playing with her now not accounting for the time that had passed since they last encountered each other. Jubilee could hear crashing from the city, things were getting intense there too. Jubilee took a strong stance, like Jean had showed her and waited for Toad to make a move. He lunged forward and Jubilee was able to move swiftly as she dodged his attempted blows.

Toad noted the smoothness with how she moved, she had gotten better since the mall and it was clear that he had underestimated her.

Storm had taught her the footwork, but it was Cyclops who taught her the combo of punches she delivered to Toad's face and body. Toad was caught off-guard by the assault and staggered back as Jubilee pushed her advantage. She rushed and caught Toad with another punch combo followed by an elbow and a roundhouse kick that knocked Toad into a crate that broke under the force he hit the box with. Toad let out a roar of rage and stood up and launched himself towards Jubilee who raised her hands and fired her fireworks at Toad landing a direct hit on the froggy mutant sending him flying back towards a parked fishing boat incapacitating him.

"Nice" shouted Ice Man from the deck of the tanker.

"Great job, get up here and we can start getting these people situated" yelled Darwin as he pointed to where the hostages needed to go.

Jubilee smiled and looked up to the ship when she turned her thoughts back to the others going after Magneto. She thought for a second, they were going to need all the help they could get their hands on. Jubilee looked at Darwin and Ice Man "Keep everyone safe and ready to go. I'm going to help them" she yelled as she turned and started running towards the capitol building where the others were fighting. She ignored the protests of Darwin and Ice Man and focused herself for the fight to come.

Luckily it wasn't too bad of a run to the building, she ran past the knocked-out Avalanche and saw the destruction from the battle against Blob. She looked into the lobby and saw Cyclops, Jean, and Storm enter an elevator with Wolverine, "Damn it" she said before she looked over and saw the stairs. "This is going to take a while" she remarked as she pushed through the door and started making her way up.

**Elevator**

The elevator made its way up the floors of the building, Cyclops watched each floor ding as they passed it. Elevator music filled the area as the four members of the X-Men prepared themselves for what was coming.

The doors opened and they were ready to charge into battle to only find an empty waiting room waiting for them. They stepped out, the bright wood floor and walls were beautifully decorated. The double doors were left slightly ajar and they slowly approached them, the doors opened "Come on in" invited Magneto sitting behind the Presidential desk.

Cyclops led them in, with Jean and Storm flanking him on both sides and Wolverine bringing up the back eying the room looking for threats. Sabretooth and Mystique were both standing to the sides of the desk, Wolverine could see they were ready to step in if needed. "Stand down Magneto" ordered Cyclops knowing full well that a fight was most certainly coming.

Magneto smirked and stood up "Come now, Scott. How long have we all been doing this now? I try and make the world a better place for our kind and Charles sends all of you after me, around and around we go." Magneto came to a stop in front of Wolverine, "Humanity will always hate us, I've learned quite a bit about you. Sabretooth told me everything, you and I understand more than anyone else in this room what humanity is capable of."

Wolverine stepped forward to the front as Sabretooth came directly behind Magneto. "You don't know anything about me" answered Wolverine with Cyclops standing behind him.

"I know about Stryker, Weapon X, and your sad family history. I know that you know I'm right about them, we can make change here, a place where what happened to us won't happen again. Stand with me, together all of us can make a better world for our kind" stated Magneto as Wolverine stood quietly.

Jean and Storm could see Sabretooth and Mystique picking targets, and Cyclops was getting antsy. Wolverine looked around, Magneto was powerful, and Sabretooth and Mystique were more than capable of handling themselves and they were experienced with Cyclops, Jean, and Storm giving them another advantage. He made a decision…and it was not an easy one. Wolverine lifted his arm and drove his elbow into the chin of Cyclops. His adamantium elbow knocked Cyclops for a loop, before Jean and Storm could react Sabretooth and Mystique were already on top of them, Sabretooth landed a blow on Jean knocking her out immediately while Storm had a short fight with Mystique before a metal table flew in and knocked Storm into a wall. Magneto stood over the three incapacitated X-Men with Wolverine by his side.


	33. Now or Never

**The Situation Room**

The last ten minutes had been a whirlwind for Charles, Wolverine had seemingly betrayed them and now everyone had spent the time since telling the President that he needed to act now if they wanted to stop this before it got more out of hand. They had the security footage of the Genoshan Presidents office several hours earlier and they tuned in just in time to see Wolverine elbow Cyclops in the face and watch the rest of the team taken prisoner. "We need to strike now!" yelled Fredricks.

"Unless you have, non-metallic weapons than this entire conversation is pointless" instructed Charles hoping that common sense would win the day.

"There is no way that Magneto could stop our entire attack and all we need is one of our rounds to hit the target" reasoned Fredricks foolishly.

"Mr. President do not underestimate what Magneto is capable of…he survived the Holocaust sir. You can never underestimate someone who has survived something like that" explained Charles.

President Freeman nodded as Charles spoke, "How can you even trust this man?" asked Fredricks. "One of his so-called specialists just turned on his team, and we don't know if he is even trust worthy enough to be here. He could be working with the Brotherhood and that fool Fury brought him here to keep us from doing what we need to do."

Rogers stepped forward "Sir, I know Wolverine personally. I have fought beside him, and I trust him with my life. I am asking you to trust him and to trust Charles Xavier's team" he stated with a serious look on his face.

The President nodded "We can give them a little more time."

**Presidents of Genosha's Office**

Cyclops regained consciousness with Jean's voice echoing in his mind, "Don't open your eyes Scott." He could already feel that his visor had been removed, he tried to listen to get an understanding of what was going on. The wind was howling at him, suddenly his mind was filled with a vision of the room.

Jean had connected her mind with Cyclops allowing him to see the room and situation, Sabretooth had taken up a position along a wall to the far left of Cyclops who was kneeling in front with Jean next to him and Storm behind the two lovers. Mystique was behind the group and Wolverine was in front of Cyclops standing next to Magneto who was currently staring out the broken window where he had dropped Corbeau the day before.

"It's only a matter of time, no doubt the Americans have already hacked into our security feeds and they will have seen their saviors fail. The attack will come soon and when it does we will retaliate and the rest of mutant kind will rise up against their human oppressors and claim their rightful place as the dominant species" remarked Magneto as Wolverine watched the X-Men closely.

"I don't believe that for one second" remarked Storm from behind Cyclops and Jean. "Mutant's and humans both want the same thing, a safe place to call home. If mutants were going to stand against humans it would have happened already, places like this are the problem not the differences between mutants and humans."

Jean was hoping to spot some kind of opening, but she could feel something nagging her mind, like someone was trying to reach out, she opened her mind hoping that the Professor was going to offer guidance.

"This was a terrible idea, she's not even listening for me and now here I am trying to pull this off all by myself" came the gravelly voice of Wolverine. "Yeah, knock out red eyes and hope that the team listens for your useless mental ramblings."

"Logan" she said in his mind and his eyes suddenly met hers "What are you doing?"

"Can't believe this worked, sorry about this but I needed to get as close to Magneto as I could, and this was the only way but now we need to work together if we are going to pull this off" Wolverine offered as Magneto turned and stood next to Wolverine looking at Storm. "Here's the plan, if it works, we can end this once and for all."

"You think humanity is capable of treating us as equals?" Magneto questioned as Storm straightened her back as faced her captor.

"Someday…yes. Humanity will accept mutants and we mutants must accept them. This isn't a hostile takeover" reasoned Storm.

Cyclops attempted to stand, and Wolverine popped his claw "Don't try it" Wolverine growled as Cyclops returned to his previous position. Jean spotted Cyclops visor on the desk behind Magneto, she reached out with her mutant powers to bring them to her.

Magneto laughed after Storm finished speaking "Humanity cannot accept itself…Humans fight over everything, resources, religion, hell they even fight over pointless scraps of the land on the other side of the globe. They are divided amongst themselves and you expect them to somehow accept that they are being replaced by a superior species" explained Magneto. Magneto, Sabretooth and Mystique were distracted, Jean could sense them watching Storm closely allowing her to bring Cyclops visor within a few feet of Cyclops.

Jean heard Wolverine in her head "Now or never" and their plan went into motion, Cyclops visor was returned to the correct place on his face and he fired a blast at Sabretooth sending the feral mutant crashing against the wall, Jean turned her attention to Mystique and sent the blue mutant through the closed doors of the office. Wolverine turned quickly and attempted to drive his right claws into Magneto's chest.

Magneto was much older than he liked to admit but even in his older body his mind and senses were still honed like he was a young man. His slowed reflexes had allowed Wolverine to come a half inch short of his target, his metal skeleton that helped make him near indestructible was now preventing him from finishing the job.

Wolverine was frozen now; the fight was heating up around him, but he couldn't do anything to affect the outcome. Magnetos control over his skeleton now put Wolverine in a rare position of weakness.

Jean was about to help Wolverine when she felt very lightheaded, the fight outside and implementing Wolverine's plan had drained her and now she could barely do anything.

**The Situation Room**

"They have lost control of the situation" screamed Fredricks.

"Mr. President, your second term is coming to an end in the next few months. If you attack Genosha, your legacy will be starting a war between humans and mutants" replied Charles. "You have done so much good in the last eight years, better education, better health care…do not throw away that legacy out of fear of the unknown."

President Freeman weighed the options in his mind, before giving an exacerbated sigh, "General Fredricks", Fredricks stood at attention ready to give the order. "Stand down our fleet, only fire if fired upon."

"Sir, that is incredibly foolish…you can not be so dumb as to let an opportunity like this to slip away" Fredricks shouted.

The room grew quiet as the President looked at Fredricks with the kind of angry eyes a teacher would give a student "General…I relieve you of command, now get the hell out of my White House."

Fredricks jaw dropped as he didn't say anything and walked out of the room, "Director Fury, I am placing you in command of the fleet for the duration of this mission" ordered the President.

Fredricks left the room and picked up a cell phone, he needed to act quickly…the phone rang one time before it was answered "This is General Fredricks" he said getting acknowledgement from the voice on the phone. Calling the fleet from a cell phone was not typical but Fredricks always kept the idea in his back pocket just in case. As long as they were not informed of his dismissal his plan should work beautifully "Fire everything" he ordered getting an affirmative from the other side of the line.


	34. Better Men

**Hammer Bay, Genosha**

Wolverine's claw was slowly lifted by Magneto away from his chest, Magneto looked disappointed "What a shame" he muttered before flinging Wolverine towards Sabretooth who had finally recovered from Cyclops optic blast.

"Should have joined up little brother" Sabretooth remarked before picking Wolverine up and slashing his face.

Cyclops was about to engage Magneto when the master of magnetism turned towards the broken window with a relieved sigh. "Finally, they couldn't help themselves" he said with a laser focus. Mystique was trading blows with Storm, but Storm had nowhere near the experience that Mystique had. Storm was overmatched as Mystique delivered a kick to Storm's midsection.

Cyclops decided to help Storm and left Magneto to his own devices as he launched himself between Storm and Mystique. Cyclops sized Mystique up as the two began trading blows, with Cyclops hand to hand training coming in handy.

Magneto could feel the metal hulls of the American fleet in the water, the guns were turning towards Genosha.

**The Situation Room**

"Why our ships about to open fire?" asked Fury as he saw the weapons starting to fire up. "Get a hold of those ships" he ordered.

One of the other commanders attempted contact and couldn't get through, "We can't contact them sir. I don't know what the problem is."

Rogers was about to speak when he thought of Fredricks, he turned and left the room.

Fredricks was taking his time, the experimental scrambler would do its job as long as he stayed fairly close to the situation room. It would give them enough time to launch the attack on Hammer Bay. He was trying to get a hold of his contact in Mutant Control, but the scrambler was preventing him from making anything either.

Rogers walked the hallways quickly, his super human abilities allowing to move through the crowded halls with relative ease. Aides were trying to stop him, but he ignored him, Fredricks had left too quickly and easily, something was up and Steve had a feeling it had something to do with not being able to communicate with the fleet.

**Hammer Bay, Genosha**

Magneto relished the moment, he had finally gotten what he wanted, a home for mutant kind, and now the humans were about to hand him the bullet he needed to rally all mutant kind to his cause. He not only heard the weapons fire, but he felt the metal enter the air, the ordinance came flying towards Hammer Bay.

Wolverine and Sabretooth were hitting each other over and over again as the sounds of the fleet opening fire thundered around them. Cyclops and Mystique were locked in a technical showdown as their hand to hand skills shined. Storm approached Magneto as Jean tried to pick herself up off the ground.

The projectiles from the fleet were within sight now, ready to destroy everything they touched. Magneto reached out catching the missiles in midair, he held them in place for a brief moment. He then used his powers to turn them back the other way, holding them in place as the options of what to do flashed through his mind.

**The Situation Room**

Charles could see what was happening, the room was in a panic. Fury was trying to get a hold of his second in command, Rogers had left the room and the President was simply trying to sort through the chaos. Magneto was about to win, Charles needed to do something, and he needed to do it right now.

**Hammer Bay, Genosha**

Magneto was about to launch the projectiles back at the fleet, but Storm stood next to him, "Erik" she said causing Magneto to look back at her.

"Hello, Charles. Finally, out of the shadows" Magneto replied deciding to savor the moment just a little longer.

Charles had sent his mind to Storm, all the X-Men had training in allowing Charles access and now he needed to talk some sense into the man he loved. "This isn't who we are, Erik."

"Oh really? Well then who are we, Charles? Freaks? Forced to hide in the dark corners of the world hoping that humanity recognizes us, accept as a part of their precious society. I have seen too much Charles, I've seen the worst of them…doing the worst possible things that an imagination can think of."

"We can be better men, Erik. You don't need to do this to prove that mutants deserve their place, all you will do is turn us all into the monsters that the worst of humanity wants the world to believe we are. I'm begging you to be better than them" explained Charles speaking through Storm. Jean had managed to crawl her way closer to the situation hoping that she might see an opening to help.

"They were going to kill us all, Charles. Me, Raven, and all your people…you might be willing to let that go, but I'm not" replied Magneto as he returned his focus to the highly destructive arsenal that was now at his disposal.

"Erik, there are good people on that ship, good people where I am…they are just following orders" pleaded Charles causing Magneto to look at him once again.

Charles could see it through Storms eyes, the determination of someone who believed in what they were fighting for. He also saw the pain that had drawn the two of them together, "I've been at the mercy of men just following orders…never again." Magneto was Erik Lehnsherr just for a split second and then he was gone, the rage of his family being taken, all because he was different than everyone else. All the rage that Magneto had contained in himself all boiled over in those words, there was no yelling, no fast paced angry muttering, just the pure rage that consumes everything it touches.

Magneto reached out for a quick second and summoned up the metal desk and sent it towards Storm who couldn't get out of the way, sending her flying back out of the fight. Cyclops tried to grab Mystique but was countered by the nimble blue mutant and was taken down into a rear naked choke. Wolverine and Sabretooth were tearing each other apart and were starting to get too tired to even strike at full force.

Magneto moved his hand forward launching the ordinance back towards the fleet, the ammo flew towards the ships traveling just above the harbor, Beast looked up as the missiles flew over the ship, "Oh my stars and garters."

They were just a mile away now, Magneto could feel how close he was to his goal. Suddenly, something happened…the missiles had stopped before hitting their target. He started looking towards Storm, thinking that maybe Charles had found a way to intervene. Storm was still down, and the others were distracted until his eyes fell upon…Jean Grey.

Jean had nothing left to give, she couldn't stand and now here she was pushing herself to try and keep Magneto from winning. She couldn't hold him for long but hopefully long enough to get her team time to stop him.

Magneto pushed harder causing Jean to do the same, he continued to look at her…all the memories came rushing back to him. He had led Mystique away from the X-Men because of Jean and now here she was standing in his way. She had grown stronger and now he was pushing himself harder than he had in years.

Jean dug as deep inside herself and pushed as hard as she could. Magneto looked over and saw something that almost froze his soul, Jean's eyes were glowing orange. Jean's nose started bleeding before the exhaustion finally got to her as she collapsed.

Magneto smirked as he looked back, the missiles were holding and he prepared the final push to victory, a bright flash of color rocketed into his upper back sending him rolling on the ground and breaking his concentration causing the hostile weaponry to drop harmlessly into the sea.

Jubilee had sprinted up the stairs from the lobby after she missed the X-Men on the elevator, she entered the room and saw that Magneto was up to something and that everyone else was distracted…so she did the one thing she could think to do. She blasted her fireworks at Magneto and knocked the older mutant to the ground and was amazed when large explosions erupted off the coast. She smiled just long enough for Mystique to deliver a roundhouse kick to her chin. Wolverine and Sabretooth were both distracted by the events that they stopped fighting for a brief second.

**The White House**

Rogers scanned the halls of the White House for a few minutes before he spotted the uniform of Fredricks. He approached slowly, "General Fredricks!" he announced causing Fredricks to sigh and drop his head "Did you order the strike on Genosha?" Rogers asked not wanting to waste time if he could help it.

Fredricks stood up straight and turned towards Captain America "Yes, I did."

"Are you the reason we cannot communicate with the fleet now?" asked Cap as he stared stoically at Fredricks.

Fredricks reached into his pocket "Yes, I am" he replied as he realized that he would certainly be court marshaled for not only his insubordination but also his sabotage of the operation.

"Will you hand that to me sir?" Captain America asked rhetorically knowing that he would take it from him if he refused to hand it over. Fredricks looked at the scrambler for a moment before nodding and tossing the device to Cap who destroyed it. He looked at Fredricks who was waiting for the inevitable, "Place him under arrest" ordered Cap who pulled out a phone and dialed Fury. "Call the fleet" he said as Fury hung up and ordered the fleet to call off any kind of counter attack.

**Genosha**

Wolverine looked back seconds before Sabretooth as he launched his claws into his brother's chest and drove him through a wall, Wolverine used Sabretooth's own shock to pull his claws free and deliver a claw uppercut to Sabretooth's chin, impaling the feral mutant's head. Sabretooth dropped like a ton of bricks, his healing factor would save him, but it would take some time.

Cyclops was cradling Jean as he tried to make sure she was okay, she was breathing but she was clearly exhausted. "Wake up Jean" he said quietly. He looked around to see things getting out of control.

Wolverine got back into the main office and surveyed the situation, Storm was trying to keep Mystique off Jubilee, and Cyclops was checking on Jean. Wolverine looked over and saw Magneto starting to stir, this was his chance if he was going to take Magneto out it was now or never. He charged at Magneto who stood just in time to use his power to stop Wolverine in his tracks.

Wolverine was stuck now and the everyone was too busy to help him, "I gave you a chance to be a part of something greater than yourself" growled Magneto as he slowly bent Wolverine's right arm backwards. Wolverine let out a painful grunt as Magneto slowly pushed the arm farther back.

Storm was pushed back towards a window as Mystique went to work on Jubilee who tried to punch the blue mutant but was quickly brought down in an armbar. Mystique locked eyes with Storm as she snapped Jubilee's left arm. Jubilee screamed in pain as Storm gathered a lightning storm outside. Mystique let Jubilee go watching her roll away as Mystique turned her full attention to Storm. "Think I'm afraid of a little thunder?" she remarked as Storm's eyes went white.

"Its not the thunder you should worry about" Storm replied as she summoned a bolt of lightning, shattering the window and hitting Mystique sending out the staircase door that Jubilee had entered from. Storm ran to Jubilee who was holding her arm with tears flooding down her face.

Wolverine could feel his shoulder muscle starting to tear as Magneto slowly pushed his arm, the old man was toying with him and thanks to his Adamantium laced skeleton there was nothing he could do about it. "You should have joined us, now I'm going to rip the Adamantium out of you, ounce by ounce" remarked Magneto as he prepared to pull the Adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton.

Cyclops looked up, Wolverine was in trouble and Cyclops needed to do something now. He looked down at Jean "I'll be right back" he whispered as he stood up and turned towards Magneto and Wolverine.

"Magneto!" shouted Cyclops as he stood his ground.

Magneto looked over and looked at the X-Men leader, "Well if it isn't the teacher's pet" remarked Magneto as he held Wolverine in place.

Cyclops moved carefully, if he did the wrong thing, he would be able to snap Wolverine into tons of pieces. "It doesn't need to end this way" he said as he hoped for an opening as Storm stood up and headed towards the others. "Let him go and turn yourself in."

Magneto smirked as he watched Cyclops carefully, the young leader of the X-Men had always been brash even when he was a child and Magneto first met him. Being handed the reins of Charles team had clearly turned him into a cocky man, to stand all alone against odds when his team is decimated.

Cyclops looked at the all the options he could charge but there was plenty of metal around the room which Magneto could easily use to take him down, Jean was out of the game and Jubilee was huddled in a corner tending her arm. Wolverine was bait in the bear trap and they were going to be forced to take it, there was only one way they could pull it off. "As usual Magneto…you underestimate your opponent just like the Professor said you always do in chess. He always told me you never saw the entire board…always watching the King and the Queen…never watching the Knight."

Storm used the opening to send a bolt of lightning at Wolverine that conducted on his Adamantium skeleton and shot through his claws into Magneto who flew towards the broken window behind him. Cyclops ran and managed to grab Magneto before he fell to his death. The master of magnetism was unconscious, but Cyclops could see was still breathing. He pulled Magneto to safety and looked over at the others and saw Storm checking on Wolverine. "You good?" Cyclops asked as he sat the knocked-out Magneto on the floor.

"That…hurt" responded Wolverine getting a laugh from the rest of the team. He got up to go check on Jubilee while the others took a breath.

"Now we just have to get to the ship" stated Cyclops as he went to pick up Jean.

Storm looked at the now destroyed office "How hard could it be?"


	35. Peace?

**Genosha**

The elevator ride down to the lobby had been quiet up to this point, "Condition of Mystique and Sabretooth?" asked Cyclops with Jean in his arms since she was still unconscious.

Wolverine had Magneto slung over his shoulder "I'd bring Sabretooth, but he will heal and when he wakes up having him in a closed space like a ship with a bunch of civilians around is not the best idea" he explained as he looked over a Jubilee who was still nursing her broken arm.

Storm looked at the arm "We'll have Beast set it properly when we get to the ship" she assured the young mutant before looking at Cyclops. "Mystique was gone when I went to check on her, that might be a problem between now and getting out of here."

Cyclops nodded as he looked down at Jean "Hopefully Jean wakes up soon, she's never lost consciousness like this before" he remarked at the elevator came to a stop at the lobby. The team paused for a short moment, awaiting for some trap to spring but nothing happened, they exited and made their way out of the front of the building. Avalanche, Whirlwind, and Blob hadn't moved since the fight and were quickly passed by the X-Men as they made their way to the harbor and safety.

They passed block by block for almost ten minutes when the harbor was in sight, "Home stretch" remarked Cyclops as he picked up the pace. They were just about to pass the last street to get into the harbor when a large group of the mutants that were rescued from slavery appeared, blocking their path.

"That's far enough" one of the mutants at the front of the group ordered as the group of at least twenty stood between the X-Men and escape.

"This has nothing to do you…let us pass and we will make sure you get home safely" bargained Cyclops.

"Home?" the mutant replied, "What home? We were all pushed here by the people around us…the people who cannot accept us. We came here thinking we found a place where we could be ourselves…instead we were bound and chained for the advancement of regular people." The group was tense, Wolverine could feel their desire in the air, "Let Magneto go…and we will let you leave in peace with all of your people."

Cyclops shook his head slowly as he started making tactical decisions in his head, what he would do and how he would do it to maneuver their way to the ship. "I can't do that" he stated simply hoping that the mutants were bluffing. Wolverine looked at everyone in the group standing before them, no clue what their powers were or how experienced they were in a fight, but he could see the determination, the will…they would fight till the last man and Wolverine did not like those odds.

Storm looked at Wolverine who shook his head towards her, she nodded back before stepping to Cyclops side. "We can't fight them" she whispered as Cyclops looked person to person.

"We can take them" replied Cyclops, "They don't know who he is…what he's capable of doing." Cyclops raised his voice toward the crowd in front of them, "You can all come with us, I know a man who helped me deal with my powers and the best way to use them."

"We aren't going anywhere" replied the apparent leader of the small group.

"The Professor can help all of you" pleaded Cyclops.

Storm sighed "Scott…these people have been mistreated because of who they are. The Professor saved us…guided us but he didn't save them…Magneto did. If someone came and was taking the Professor away even if he deserved it, you would fight until you couldn't fight anymore" Storm explained as Cyclops looked down at Jean wondering what she would do in this situation. "Jean is out cold, Jubilee has a broken arm and the three of us couldn't win this fight even if we wanted to."

Cyclops thought for one more moment "Wolverine…drop him" he ordered as Wolverine nodded and dumped the master of magnetism roughly off his shoulder. The mutants looked carefully before separating clearing a path for the X-Men to escape.

Cyclops and Jean went first with Storm behind them, "Go ahead kid, I'll go last" ordered Wolverine as Jubilee moved quickly with Wolverine watching the teams back. As they made their way towards the tanker where Beast and the others were waiting Wolverine looked back and saw the leader of the mutant's shape shift into Mystique who looked back with her piercing yellow eyes. He was the last to board and he watched the shore carefully as the ship departed Genosha for one of the American ships in the fleet.

**Washington D.C.**

Once the X-Men arrived on the ship President Freeman let out an exhausted sigh, "Okay, get everyone home" he ordered as he stood and went to leave. He turned back at the door and looked at Charles, "Come see me before you leave" he said as he turned and left the room.

Charles turned to Fury who was coordinating the fleet's return, "I'll have a Quinjet board the ship and get your team home" he explained as he put his hand out for Xavier. The two men shook hands "Thank you for your help, if we had done this another way it would have ended far worse than it did. We'll get Magneto eventually" he stated as Charles nodded and left the room.

He followed a young aide who was leading him to the Oval Office when he saw Steve Rogers come around the corner from the Oval Office. "Professor" he said shaking hands with the mutant.

"Thank you, for getting communications back up Captain" stated Xavier as Rogers gave an innocent smirk.

"Glad I could help, your team did well…I look forward to working with them again someday" answered Rogers getting a nod from Charles.

"Where are you off to now?" asked Charles as he saw the aide waiting for him at the door to the Oval Office.

Rogers sighed and shrugged "Where ever I'm needed, let's hope Genosha isn't one of the places I'm needed" he said as he patted Charles on the shoulder and made his way to get his orders from Fury.

Charles made his way into the Oval Office and found the President staring out the windows in the back. Charles felt like he had walked into an episode of the West Wing as President Freeman turned towards him. "Your team did well, Professor Xavier" he remarked as Charles came to a stop in front of the furniture in the middle of the room.

"Your welcome Mr. President" responded Charles as Freeman approached him.

"I have asked you to join me here before leaving because you understand mutants far better than I do, the fact is tomorrow morning I'm going to have to explain to the world what the hell is going on in Genosha. This revolution led by Magneto may have rescued the civilians in Hammer Bay but not the others that are spread throughout the island. I cannot leave those people behind."

Charles nodded and thought "Offer to stay out of their affairs, Magneto was willing to let the hostages leave with us and only responded when the X-Men made a move towards him, if you offer to leave them alone in exchange for the humans remaining on the island…I think Magneto would be willing to let them leave peacefully."

Freeman sighed "Can I leave them peacefully?"

"Mr. President…I have known Erik Lehnsherr for over thirty years. His dream was to find somewhere that mutants could survive free of persecution and hatred. That is what all of this has been about…finding a place where they could know peace, be free of the bigotry that surrounds them all over the world. Genosha was mistreating mutants to drive their own interests and the interests of people who would see all mutants go extinct, seems like the kind of place that a mutant population should be allowed to keep." Charles waited for a reaction from the President who was weighing his options.

"Genosha's government is in tatters and its military is gone, it has no real formal allies and is an island therefore leaving it with no real neighbors. I'll allow the new residents of Genosha to decide about their future themselves but come January next year I won't be making that decision any more…and trust me when I say that it will be an issue that all the candidates will be discussing going into the elections. I don't think I need to remind you that Senator Kelly is running and looks like a shoe in for the nomination at the very least" explained Freeman getting a nod from Charles.

"Thank you, Mr. President. It was pleasure to help" stated Charles as he shook the President's hand.

"I don't think I'll be using your team again before I leave office but please give them my sincerest regards" stated the President with an honest smile.

Charles nodded and made his way out of the Oval Office and was led outside where there was car ready to drive him home.


	36. Check Mate

**Central Park**

**One Week Later**

Charles was sitting on a table in the middle of Central Park staring at a chess board, he barely looked up when his opponent sat down across from him. "Hello Charles" remarked Erik sporting a black eye and clearly hampered by the recent events.

"You're late" replied Charles, "trouble getting in?"

Erik laughed "Its amazing how taking over an entire nation makes travel difficult" he responded as he waited for the game to begin.

"Are you planning on honoring the agreement?" Charles asked as he moved his pawn to begin the proceedings.

Erik responded with a move of his own, "Of course, the humans have been returned and the United States has agreed to leave us be. The first elections will be taking place in a few hours actually."

"Making yourself President?" asked Charles as the chess moves were coming fast and furious.

Erik laughed loudly "I'm the only one running but its not rigged if that's what you're asking…we can't afford to wait too long especially if Kelly wins the election here."

"He won't…I think Eckhart looks strong, and I believe that majority of people see Kelly for inflammatory bigot that he is" replied Charles as they continued play.

Erik sighed, "Charles…while we were fighting, I saw something…something that I have to warn you about", Charles looked up with a confused look. "Jean, while she was preventing me from destroying the fleet…her eyes glowed like fire. She has done well but I think she is losing control…it's waking up."

Charles shook his head "Not possible."

"Charles do not underestimate this…" started Erik.

"Check mate" called Charles as he expertly maneuvered his pieces to defeat Erik's King.

Erik sighed before standing "I'm not the only one who doesn't see the entire board Charles. Let's hope for the sake of the Galaxy that you aren't ignoring the biggest piece on the board." Erik turned to leave "Till next time old friend" he said as he walked away from Charles, their game finished for the time being.

**X-Mansion**

Jubilee came out of her room, with her arm in a cast and made her way to the common area, word had spread all over the school about what happened in Genosha. She had been getting way to go's and high fives all week. When she arrived in the common area, she found Bobby and Armando sitting on the couch watching the news.

"Genosha is having its first elections since the mutant attack against the country last week. It is believed that the leader of the terrorist organization the Brotherhood of Mutants, Erik Lehnsherr also known as Magneto is expected to be named President of the now 100 percent mutant nation. We will keep you up to date on the election results as they come in", the news anchor reported.

She sat down with Bobby and Armando as Peter joined the group that was watching tv, the PA system came on with Hank's voice. "Would Jubilee, Bobby Drake, and Peter Rasputin please report to my office?"

Bobby and Peter got up to head over and Jubilee turned to Armando "Why aren't you coming?" she asked.

Armando smiled "I'm done…everything I showed on the mission proved that I could control my powers. I was offered more training, but I declined…I'm ready to give normal life a try." Jubilee hugged him "Don't worry I'm staying here until I'm on my feet, so we have plenty of time to still hang out."

Jubilee nodded before making her way to Hank's office, the others were outside waiting "Here we go" remarked Peter as he opened the door and the trio entered.

Hank was sitting at his desk and smiled as they entered "Welcome" he remarked standing and making his way towards the group, "We have a lot to talk about."

Out on the lawn Scott and Jean were walking the estate, "You know I always love the leaves here in the fall" remarked Jean as the tree branches swayed in the wind. "The colors change and a whole new world awakens…the weather turns crisp and the leaves become fire, so beautiful" she remarked. It took her a few hours to wake up after the mission in Genosha, but they told her that they won and that was good enough for her. "Burn" echoed through her mind as if something was speaking to her. She was so distracted that she hadn't heard Scott talking, she shook herself back to reality to find Scott on one knee.

"Jean Elaine Grey" Scott said with tears starting to fall down from behind his red tinted glasses. "Will you marry me?"

Logan could see from the stone patio along the outside the mansion to see the two love birds, Jean had shaken her head yes and was almost screaming yes as the now engaged couple began to hug. "Congrats you two" he muttered with a smirk before turning to see Ororo.

"He finally did it huh?" she asked as she stopped next to Logan.

"Been waiting for a long time for that?" remarked Logan as the two of them started making their way towards the house, they were meeting with Hank soon and despite the proposal they needed to get moving.

"You have no idea" she replied with a laugh as the couple approached holding hands.

Logan and Ororo started clapping as the couple approached, Scott waved them off, "Let's get down stairs…Hank should be finishing up with the kids."

Jubilee was excited, the meeting had been fitting for their new uniforms they were simply made for now with Hank customizing them later once they settled in, "Ok, now that we have your suits ready…we need your code names, I know that you prefer Jubilee, and that you like Iceman, but you Peter…What about your code name?" Hank asked with a calm smile.

Peter thought for a moment, the giant Russian weighing his options before he smiled "Colossus."

Hank nodded "Fitting" Hank went behind his desk and hit a button, the bookcase opened behind the trio and an elevator appeared. "Please enter the elevator" he ordered as the three young mutants entered the elevator and the doors closed and began going down.

"You think we have a mission?" asked Bobby as they waited for the elevator to stop.

"Doubt it" replied Peter with his thick Russian accent.

"You didn't see me in action in Genosha…I was fantastic" remarked Bobby as the elevator doors opened.

The three of them stepped out and found themselves in a large metal room with nothing in it, "Good morning and welcome to the Danger Room" came the voice of Hank. "From now on every morning the three of you will report here for training with the X-Men" he stated as Scott, Jean, Logan, Ororo, and Remy stepped out of the shadows across the room, "Now Jubilee will be taking an easier course until her arm heals but please listen to the X-Men and try not get hurt" he said with a menacing laugh following the announcement.

The X-Men stepped in front of them and turned around as the room changed into a wide open field setting and several figures appeared in front of the group, "Everyone pay attention and do as your told" Scott said before turning to the group with a smirk, "Welcome to the X-Men."


	37. Epilogue: Public Relations

**Federal Prison- Undisclosed Location**

Fredricks was sitting in the interrogation room waiting for his meeting with Stryker, the group they were both a part of arranged for a meeting so that Fredricks could be removed from prison and at least in a position to help.

Stryker entered the room, concrete walls, no two-way glass, no cameras, and one lone ventilation shaft that runs across the ceiling of the room. Stryker sat down and looked at the old general, "Comfortable?"

"What kind of question is that? Get me the hell out of here, the Purifiers have plenty money and pull to get me out of here" demanded Fredricks with his orange jumpsuit clashing with the dark suit that Stryker was wearing.

William Stryker almost laughed in the old mans face, "You really think after everything that happened, we would just help you out? You failed to influence the President, you failed to destroy the mutants and now we have an entire island full of infrastructure that the Purifiers built with mutants living on it" Stryker stood up. "Don't worry…the Purifiers have a plan and its going to shake this world to its core, but you don't have a part in it…in fact the only part you have to play now is some Public Relations."

A woman jumped out of the ventilation duct and stood in the back of the room, she was Asian with long black hair and a black leather suit, she didn't say anything, and Stryker smiled looking at her as Fredricks looked around in a panic. Stryker opened the door, "Make sure you kill a lot of people on your way out" he ordered as he opened the door and left Fredricks to his fate.


	38. DP Epilogue: Ow

**Genosha**

**2 Days after the X-Men Mission**

The exhaust for geothermal plant lets out into an old abandoned building that had been destroyed in a hurricane several years before the city had been rebuilt. Stone walls and crumbling infrastructure were the norm with a few animals who hunted in the area. A stone flipped over as a red and black dressed arm reached out and crawled into the open air. Deadpool stood up and dusted himself off and looked around "I'm alive…I'm alive!" he shouted before a giant stone wall fell and crushed him underneath, "Ow."


End file.
